


Royalty

by prince_yoongi



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Phanfiction, Royalty, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:39:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 25,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8811790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prince_yoongi/pseuds/prince_yoongi
Summary: This is really short because I split the chapters up weird and it's too late to fix oops. The next one's quite a bit longer. Also check out my tumblr @dil-howlters-pink-ring :)





	1. I

"Father, do I really have to do this?" I whined. "I'm only twenty do I really need to find a wife? I can be king without one" my father shot my a look that told me I should really shut my mouth. I ignored it. "And what about my soulmate?" I asked. "What are the chances that I meet her tonight?"

"Daniel" he said sternly. "You know soulmates are rare. Hardly anyone finds theirs. And you only have a year until you become king, and you know that every prince must be married before he can take the throne" I pulled at the itchy fabric around my arm to look at the half sun tattoo inked on my left wrist. The tailor slapped my hands away and went back to fixing my outfit. Every person was born with an incomplete tattoo somewhere on their body, usually on the wrist, and when the two people met, their tattoos would be completed. Very few people actually found their soulmate, some people spent their whole lives looking for them. "You can love someone who's not your soulmate" my father continued. I obviously knew that, I was just trying to find a way to get out of this.

"This is bullshit" I complained. My father gave me a look. I started squirming around. I'd been standing in the same spot for what felt like hours. The tailor glared at me. "Why can't you just change that? You're the king, can't you do something fucking useful!"

"Watch your language" he said, ignoring my question. I groaned. "And hold still please, Daniel. You're going to mess up your hair" I grit my teeth, but obeyed. Tomorrow night there was going to be a ball in my honor. I was supposed to meet all the eligible girls from the kingdom and choose one to be my wife. I only had a year to fall in love. A year before my father was going to step down and make me king. Everything for me was about to change. And I was not ready for it. When I complained that one night was not nearly long enough to fall in love, my parents arranged for there to be several more balls in the months to come. I didn't complain for a while after that.

"Remember how we practiced" my father said. "Be kind, and ask questions. You are representing the Howell bloodline" I rolled my eyes. "But above all, be yourself." I snorted.

"So you're saying be good, but be me? Yeah somehow I think that might be a little difficult" I said sarcastically.

"Daniel" he said warningly. I shrugged. The tailor cleared his throat. I tried my best to stop moving. "Just," he sighed. "Don't do anything stupid"

"Try my best" I said flatly. My father started to say something and then threw up his arms and stepped out of the room.

I would do what I was told but I didn't have to be happy about it.

 

 

The next day seemed excruciatingly slow. Every minute felt like ten. People were around meat all times, preparing me for the ball. I was scrubbed clean and dressed in clothes that were too tight, and my hair had so much product in it I wasn't sure it was ever going to move again. I was beyond relieved when it was over.

Now I was standing at the top of the marble staircase, looking down at everyone who had already arrived in the ballroom. I was far enough back that no one could see me yet. Everyone was dressed up and waiting to meet me. I avoided balls as much as possible. Dressing up just wasn't my thing. I hated having to be dressed and showed off like some show horse. That's all I was to my parents, something to show off. They were proud of what they had made me to be, not who I really was. The only reason they even had a child was because they needed someone to take the throne when my father stepped down. If I had been born a girl they would've had more children, until had a boy. I would've been married off to the first prince that showed interest in me.

I could bitch about how unfair all this is all day but I didn't have time just now. In a few moments they were going to announce my presence and the ball would begin. I was starting to get nervous. Meeting people had never been my strong suit. I was too awkward and stiff around new people, and it didn't help that people thought that I was somehow better than them because I was a prince. I didn't think I was better than anyone. Actually it was kind of the opposite of that. 

"Excuse me, sir" my male servant, Jack said.

"Jack, seriously? Do you have to call me sir every time? You're my best friend. You can call me Dan" I reminded him. He batted his eye lashes and smiled.

"Of course, Sir Dan" I glared at him. "Are you ready?" he asked seriously. "It's about to start" my chest squeezed painfully.

"Well," I took a deep breath. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be" he put his hand on my arm.

"You'll do fine, Dan" he said, his hand lingering on my arm. "Or you'll monumentally screw this up, honestly it could go either way" I batted his hand away.

"Fuck off" I grumbled. He grinned and dashed off, leaving me alone. I adjusted the crown on my head and fiddled with the buttons on my sleeve. I heard the crowd grow quiet as someone started talking. I waited until I heard my name and then I stepped towards the staircase. I grabbed onto the railing and slipped my 'Prince act' on. I squared my shoulders and plastered my most charming smile on, and began to make my way down the stairs. My eyes danced around the room and as I reached the floor. There were so many girls here dressed in their best. Their dresses were colorful, and beautiful. I watched as they fixed their hair and smoothed their skirts in the hopes that I would notice them. I resisted the urge to yawn. This was all so boring to me. I didn't understand how people enjoyed all this.

I continued to scan the crowd while I walked across the room. I had to walk over to where my parents were sitting. I stopped in my tracks when my eyes landed on a person who stood out among the people. I couldn't tell why my eyes were drawn to him, just that I couldn't look away. I realized that everyone was looking at me, now that I had stopped, and I yelled at myself to keep moving. The boy was taller than everyone in the room. He was probably as tall as me, and his fair skin was made him stand out even more. He was handsome, I had to admit, with his glowing blue eyes and raven hair. I stared at him until I reached the spot where my parents were sat.

"Daniel" I heard my mother say in front of me. I turned to look at her, and then back at the boy, but he had disappeared into the crowd. "Daniel" she whispered sharply. I blinked and turned to face everyone. I plastered the smile back on my face and clasped my hands in front of me.

"Now tonight is a special night for young Daniel here" my father said proudly. He put his hand on my shoulder as he spoke. "He is about to become a man-" my face felt hot. This was really embarrassing. "-and every man needs a woman. And there are so many beautiful women here to choose from. We are so honored for you all to be here with us tonight, and for those who came from so far away. I hope you all make the most of tonight, so without further ado... let us begin!" he bowed, and with that, the music started and the people started to mill around, socializing with one another.

"Go on" my mother pushed me forward gently. "Go meet your wife" she had tears in her eyes. They were both so proud of me. So proud of who they made me into. I clenched my fists and made my way to the people, but only made it a few steps when someone quickly moved in front of me. It was an older man with a young girl at his side. I was surprised that someone came up to talk to me until I realized why he did.

"Prince Daniel" he bowed. I nodded my head in greeting. "My name is James Donovan"

"Pleasure to meet you, sir" I said politely. The girl was eyeing me up and down. I cleared my throat and she blushed.

"This is my eligible daughter Madeline" she stepped around him and bowed, her elaborate dress swirling around her as she did. "She would be honored if you choose her as your wife" I kissed her hand, like I was taught to, and smiled.

"Would you care to dance?" I asked her. Her blue eyes lit up and she opened her mouth to answer.

"I-"

"She would love to!" Mr. Donovan interrupted her. She shot him a look and then turned back to me. I led her away to the dance floor. Madeline was an excellent dancer. I was as well, but only after years of dance practices. We danced and I spoke to her for a few minutes but she really didn't seem all that interesting to me. The whole time we were dancing I found myself looking around the room, searching for someone else. 

After I politely said that it was nice to meet her, I moved on to another girl. The night seemed to drag on forever. My feet were sore from all of the dancing and I was starting to get a headache. I was so bored of this whole thing already. It was exhausting to have to have conversations with all off the girls, and to listen to the parents who sucked up to me. I tried my best to pay attention to who I talked to but it was hard. There were so many people and none of them stood out to me.

Then I saw him.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short because I split the chapters up weird and it's too late to fix oops. The next one's quite a bit longer. Also check out my tumblr @dil-howlters-pink-ring :)

He was standing across the room from me. Without thinking, I started to make my way over to them. A woman tried to stop me to say hello, but I pushed past her without a word. I don't know what was happening to me but when I blinked I was halfway across the room. I was staring at the boy. His eyes locked with mine for a minute. I felt like all my breath was sucked out. I didn't know why but I had to meet him.

"Your highness" the boy said with a bow as I stopped in front of him. I bowed my head in greeting, without taking my eyes off him. "My names Philip Lester, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Prince Daniel"

"Likewise," I smiled at him. "And please, call me Dan" he smiled. I felt butterflies in my chest. My hands were fidgeting at my side. What was wrong with me? The girl next to him cleared her throat.

"Oh, and this is my sister Amelia" he said shortly, gesturing to the girl standing next to him. I glanced at the girl for a minute. She was beautiful. Her hair was the same color as the boy, Philip's, and they both had the same high cheekbones.

"It's an honor to meet you, Sir" she said eagerly. I kissed her hand like I had with every other girl I had met.

"Thank you both for coming" I let go of her hand and turned back to Phil. "I hope you're having a good time, Philip"

"Please," he smirked. "Call me Phil"

"Phil" I brushed my hair out of my eyes nervously. "So, Phil, are you enjoying the ball?"

"I am! Everything here's so..." he looked around the room, and then back at me "amazing" I felt a blush creeping up my throat. "And what about you? Are you enjoying the ball?" my smile faded a little.

"Trying my best" I said honestly. He nodded understandingly.

"It must be tiring, having to meet all these people" I let out a sigh.

"It really is" Talking to him was so easy. I was actually enjoying making small talk with him. Small talk. I hated small talk. "So do you live here in town?" I asked.

"I do!" he said. "My parents own a bakery in the east side of town, they're both terribly sorry they couldn't make it tonight. They have to be up early to open the store" I nodded.

"Of course," we both stared at each other and smiled for a long minute before the girl started bouncing up and down. "Ah," I glanced at her and then back at Phil. "Would- would you like to dance... Miss?" I felt terrible, but I didn't even remember her name. And I didn't want to dance with her. All I wanted to do was stay and talk to Phil. There was something about him that I couldn't explain.

"I'd be honored" she said. I smiled tightly and reached for her hand. I pulled her away to the dance floor and we began to dance slowly.

"So," I paused as I searched my brain for her name. "Uh..."

"Amelia" she said, sounding bored. I laughed shakily.

"Of course. Amelia." I bit my lip. "H- how is your night so far? Are you having a good time?" I asked her lamely. I didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah" she said with a shrug. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"That's good" we danced silently for a minute. "Is Phil your older brother?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, he's twenty-two, I'm nineteen"

"Ah, okay. Does he help your parents in the bakery?"

"Yes, we both do" I nodded.

"Does Phil-" she huffed and looked up at me.

"If you don't mind I'd like to talk about something other than my brother" she said. I blushed and licked my lips.

"O- oh. Sure, sorry" I was so embarrassed and I didn't know what to say next, so I didn't talk to her the rest of the dance. The only thing I wanted to ask her about was Phil. When the song was over she excused herself. I felt so bad, that I just walked away.

 

After Amelia left, I danced with a few more girls, but the whole time I was looking around for Phil. I didn't see him anywhere.

"Daniel!" I heard a voice call for me. I turned and saw my mother. "How is it going, sweetheart?" she asked when I was closer to her.

"Um, okay" I shrugged. Her smile slipped a little.

"Just okay? Haven't you met some nice people? This is supposed to be fun, Daniel! You should be enjoying yourself" she smoothed down the shoulders of my jacket. "Now tell me, who is the most interesting person you've met tonight, hm? Who's really caught your eye?" I pushed her hands off of my irritatedly.

"No one. I- I- " I scanned the crowd.

"No one? You've spoke with so many lovely girls tonight, surely there's someone" I hesitated. "What? Was there someone?"

"I guess there is one person..." my mothers face lit up.

"Who?"

"His names Phil. He seems very interesting" I said wistfully. She laughed sharply.

"I meant a girl, Daniel. What girl has caught your eye?" I bit my lip angrily.

"None of them, Mother. None of them have 'caught my eye'. None of them want to know me, they just want to be a princess" I stormed away. I was done with this stupid party. I didn't understand why I had to meet a girl at the ball. Why couldn't I just meet someone the normal way and fall in love. Why couldn't I wait to meet my soulmate?


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably one of my favorite chapters so I hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment if you like it :)

I quickly left the ballroom through one of the hallways in the back of the room. I was done with this stupid ball. I didn't want to be in there for another minute. I followed the hallway to the end and stepped through a door that led outside. I was in the back garden now, I walked past patches of beautiful flowers to a bench in the middle of the paved area. It was faintly lit by a light a few feet away, and by the bright moon that was overhead. It was a clear night so I could see all the bright stars shining around me. I shivered and pulled jacket tighter around me. I leaned back and watched the sky as I let my mind wander. I just needed a minute to myself before I had to go back in there. I was so buried in thought that I didn't see someone walking towards me.

"Hey" my head whipped up and I saw Phil standing in front of me. "Are you alright?" he asked me. I opened my mouth to say yes, but realized that I was crying. Tears were tracking down my face. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

"God. I didn't even know I was crying" I laughed weakly and wiped the tears off my face.

"What's wrong?" he sat down next to me tentatively.

"You really don't want to hear about my problems"

"You can tell me" he insisted. He put his hand on my arm. I felt a warmth spread through my stomach. I sat there quietly for a minute. I was trying to decide if it was a good idea or not. I didn't know this guy so I didn't know how he'd react, but something told me it would be okay.

"I don't want to do this. I don't want to be here" I said slowly. I wasn't sure how to put my feelings into words.

"The ball wasn't your idea?" he asked.

"No" I laughed shortly. "It was not. The only reason we're having it is because I refused to marry a princess. I hate arranged marriages. So my parents thought that this was a better way. So I could feel like it was in some way my decision. Even though it's clearly not"

"Why do you have to get married?"

"My father's stepping down as king in a year and I have to claim the throne. But in order to do that I have to be married" I wiped my eyes again. "I have to get married because of a stupid law. I don't want to get married. Not like this" Phil started to rub my arm. "Do you know how many girls I've danced with tonight? I lost count. I can hardly remember their names, how am I supposed to remember other things about them? They're expecting me to find a girl that stands out to me. But they all blend together. Isn't that awful?" he gave me a weak smile.

"You remembered my name" he pointed out. I stared at him blankly. "I'm... I'm not sure what to say" he started. "I've never really been put in this position before so I don't know what I would do" I nodded and leaned away from him. I don't know why I was pouring my heart out to him. I just met him a few minutes ago.

"Fuck" I groaned. "Do you know how many peoples hands I've kissed tonight" I complained. He didn't seem to mind that I was ranting to him so I was just going to keep going. It felt good. "My lips are chapped! And god, the parents" I groaned. "The parents would tell me all these great things about their daughters and why I should choose them as my wife. Then I have to ask the girl to dance! I danced with every single girl, and none of them asked me to dance. Like, honestly I think at this point I might marry the first girl that asks me to dance" I joked. "The girls barely even talked to me. They just tried to impress me with their dancing skills" I was so worked up that I ran my fingers through my hair I accidentally knocked my crown off. Phil swiftly leaned over and caught it in his hands. He looked at it for a minute and then turned to place it back on my head.

"Dan?" he said, still facing me. "Would you like to dance with me?" a mischievous grin slowly spread across his face. I felt my face heat up.

"W- what?" I said in disbelief. He stood up and bowed in front of me, extending his hand.

"Would you care to have this dance with me?" my mouth was hanging open as I started at him. He wasn't serous, was he? "Come on" he said. "You said you wanted someone to ask you to dance. And I promise I won't try to impress you with my dance skills, because I don't have any dance skills" his blue eyes sparkled as he waited for my response. My brain told my to say no, but every other part of me wanted to say yes. My brain lost this battle.

"Alright" I laughed as I took his hand. "I would love to have this dance with you" Phil pulled me up swiftly and we moved to the open area in the middle of the garden. The moonlight shone down on us as he pulled me close to him. I laced my fingers through his and put my arm around his waist. He clumsily did the same. We began to sway back and forth to the rhythm of the music we could faintly hear from inside.

"You're a shit dancer" I mumbled the seventh time he stepped on my feet. He laughed breathily. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest I was afraid that he could hear it. This felt so... I wasn't sure how to describe it. It was a feeling I had never felt before.

"I told you" he said softly. "I don't have any coordination" I thought this would be weird, dancing with a guy. But it wasn't. It was... comfortable. It was easy. Maybe it was just Phil that made it feel easy. I lifted my chin to look at him. He was actually taller than me. Hardly anyone was taller than me.

"Thanks for listening to me rant" I said. He just smiled. "Seriously. It's really easy to talk to you. I wish it was this easy to talk to some of the girls" I grumbled. Phil stopped dancing, but continued to hold me. I looked up at him expectantly. Why did he stop dancing?

"Maybe it's easy to talk to me because I'm not a girl" he said. I frowned in confusion.

"What?" he was so close to me now as we stood motionless underneath the stars. I became aware of my heartbeat again.

Our bodies were pressed together, but neither of us were moving. It was like we were both stuck. My heart was pounding. What if someone saw us? I guess we weren't doing anything wrong, but it felt like we were.

"Daniel," Phil said softly. My heart was in my throat now. I was hardly breathing. What was happening to me?

"May I kiss you," my heart stopped. My brain was screaming at me now, it was telling me to push him away. That this was a bad idea. But if it was such a bad idea, then why did it feel so good? "May I kiss you," he repeated. "Your highness?" he added with a cheeky grin.

"Shut the fuck up" I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips down on mine. I was surprised at my sudden action. His lips were hot, as they moved against mine. I was too shocked to move. I can't believe he asked me to kiss him. I can't believe I kissed him. My whole body hummed with electricity as our mouths moved together.

"Dan!" A voice called. I frantically shoved him away from me. Someone was looking for me. They must've realized I was gone. "Dan!" We both stared at each other in fear. What if someone found us together out here? "Where are you?" The voice was quieter now. The person must be going the other way. I realized I was holding my breath.

"Shit" I said as I panted for breath. Phil looked startled. I touched my lips and whispered. "What the fuck" it hit me what I had just done. "Holy shit, I just kissed a boy" Phil scrunched up his face. I blushed and looked at him. "Uh, I mean- um- I-"

"Dan?" his voice sounded weird, it was too high like he was panicking. "Does your arm feel weird?" he asked. I frowned in confusion. I was trying to process the fact that I just kissed a boy and he was asking me about my arm?

"Why-?" I felt a sharp pain shoot down my shoulder and into my hand. "Shit!" I jumped away from him and grabbed my wrist. He was starting at his arm like it was an alien. "What the hell!" The pain continued to shoot down my arm. It hurt so much that my eyes were starting to water. After a few very long seconds the pain subsided. "What the hell-" I frantically pulled my sleeve back and felt the blood drain out of my face. "Oh, fuck"

My tattoo was completed.


	4. IV

"Do you have half a sun tattoo on your arm?" Phil asked with a panicked voice. I gulped and nodded. "Does the other half look like the moon?" I nodded again. "Shit" he whispered. I stared down at the black marking on my wrist. It was beautiful. I traced it with my finger. The half that I was born with was looked like the sun, only now there was another half that looked like the moon. "Oh my god" I was to stunned to say anything. "Oh my god. You're- we're... I cannot believe this! I never thought I'd meet you" his voice was a mixture of fear and excitement. "I thought I was never going to meet my soulmate"

"Prince Daniel!?" the voice was closer again. I had been gone too long. I needed to go back. I needed- Shit. I looked at my tattoo again in disbelief. I was so shocked that I couldn't even speak.

Phil looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I tried to open my mouth to say something, but I couldn't. He grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "Wait for me outside the gates tomorrow night, down by the stables" he said. "Please?" I widened my eyes and nodded. I think I was in shock. "Okay" his hands slid down my arms until they were on my hands. I gripped his hands tightly. "I have to go" I dropped his hands and he disappeared into the shadows.

"Dan," I whipped around and saw Jack standing there. He looked relieved. "Finally, I've been looking everywhere for you" My brain was whirling as I tried to process what had just happened. "Come on, we have to get you back to the party" he grabbed my arm and pulled me back inside.

 

"Where have you been!?" My mother cried when Jack brought me back into the room. Most of the people were gone by now as it was late, but a few still stood around the room.

"I found him out in the garden, your highness" Jack said to her when I didn't answer her. "He was just standing out there alone" she turned to him.

"Thank you so much for finding him" Jack bowed. "What were you doing out there, Daniel?" it was like my entire body had shut down. I couldn't make myself talk.

"I imagine he was getting some air, your highness" Jack said. "There was quite a lot of people here, it must've just gotten to much for him" she nodded, in understand.

"Yes, I imagine it did" she cupped my cheek lovingly. "You're probably very tired, Dear" she turned to Jack. "Why don't you take him up to his room. He's had enough for today" Jack bowed again and then took me by the arm and led me out of the ballroom. I didn't speak until I was back in my room, alone with him.

"I'm sorry" I said. He rolled his eyes and started to take my shoes off. I pulled away from him. "I can do that myself" he shrugged and sat on the bed next to me. Jack was the closest friend I had. I'd known him since we were both little. His mom was a servant here, and when he turned sixteen he became my male servant. Although I didn't let him do much. He mostly just hung out with me when I was bored.

When I had changed into my pajamas, I turned to him.

"Jack..." I said nervously. His eyes slowly moved up my body to my face. "You're my friend, right?" he nodded.

"'Course" I chewed on my lip.

"And if I told you something, you won't judge me? Or tell anyone else?"

"What did you do?" he asked in a bored voice. "Get a maid pregnant?" I scratched the back of my neck. Maybe I shouldn't tell him. I mean, how did I know that he wouldn't tell anyone? But he was my friend. Jack really was my friend. He had always been here for me. "Come on, spill" he was perched on the edge of my bed, waiting for me to tell him my secret. "You can't just leave me hanging"

"I- I kind of kissed a boy" I stuttered out. I closed my eyes and waited for Jack to laugh, yell, say something. But he didn't. I slowly peeked my eyes open. He was still sitting there on the edge of the bed, looking at me. His face looked different.

"Okay" he said simply. "Do you want to talk about it?" I balled my fists and started pacing. Of course I wanted to talk about it. All I wanted to talk about was Phil. I wanted to talk about how he was the only person from tonight that I noticed. He was the one that I talked to, the one that noticed when I left the party, and followed me to make sure I was okay. I wanted to talk about how his face shone in the moonlight and the way the stars reflected in his eyes, making them appear as if they were filled with galaxies. How we danced, and he was the clumsiest person I had ever met. And how his lips felt on mine...

I wanted to talk about the fact that he was my soulmate.

"Have you met your soulmate?" I asked instead of answering his question. He looked confused at my sudden topic change.

"No, not yet" he said. He pulled up his shirt, showing a tattoo of a vine spiraling upward on his side. I studied it and then I leaned back against my dresser. Jack pulled his shirt back down and asked, "Do you think he's your soulmate?" I took a deep breath. For some reason I didn't want to tell him. I wanted to keep it a secret. I mean it's one thing for me to have kissed a boy but having a boy as my soulmate... Plus what if he accidentally told someone? No I couldn't tell him. 

"I'm... not sure"

"Do you like him?" that weird feeling in my stomach came back.

"Yeah, I do" Jack leaned back on my bed, propping himself up on his elbows. I walked over and sat next to him on the bed. "What do I do? I don't- I don't know how to do this. I don't know what to do" I sighed in frustration. I had no idea what I was supposed to do next. How was I supposed to go from trying to find a wife to finding out that my soulmate was a boy?

"You're thinking about this too much" Jack said. "And I can't really help you if you don't want to talk about it" I glanced at him apologetically. "Maybe you should just get some sleep, that might clear your head" I nodded and crawled up to the other end of the bed. "But Dan?" 

"What?" I asked. Jack got off the bed and crossed his arms.

"We're talking about this tomorrow" he said, leaving no room for argument. I looked away from him. This was the first time I kept a secret from him. I normally told him everything. But I couldn't tell him this. I couldn't tell anyone.


	5. V

That night I dreamed about him. I dreamed that he kissed me again, but this time we weren't interrupted by someone. We kept going. We kept kissing, and I got scared. I didn't know how to kiss a boy. Phil kept stopping and staring at me, and I started to cry. I tried to kiss him, but he kept stopping me. "You don't know what you're doing" he said. I cried harder. I wanted to learn how, I told him, teach me how to do this. But he just shook his head. You're my soulmate, we have to try. "I'm not your soulmate" he laughed. I grabbed his wrist and pulled up his sleeve to show him his tattoo, but his wrist was bare. He wasn't my soulmate. He was laughing at me. I felt like my heart had been ripped out.

I woke up to someone shaking me. "Hey, hey hey hey" it was Jack. "Wake up, you're okay. It's okay, you're just dreaming" I looked around and saw that I was still in my room. I touched my face and realized that I had been crying.

"What..." I mumbled sleepily.

"You were crying in your sleep" Jack sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you alright?" I wiped my eyes an sat up.

"'m fine" my head hurt, and I was still really tired but I didn't want to go back to sleep. I secretly looked at my wrist to see if I had dreamed it.

It was there. I hadn't dreamed it.

"Oh yeah, you seem great" Jack said sarcastically. "Crying in your sleep is perfectly normal" I pushed him off my bed and got up.

"Shut up" I grumbled as I walked over to the clothes that someone had laid out for me. "Do I have to be at breakfast today?" I asked.

"Yes, you have some visitors that came early this morning" I sighed and started to change. "Were you dreaming about him?" he asked. "About your 'soulmate?'" I ignored him. "What's his name?" I huffed as I struggled to get my shirt buttoned. "Here let me help" Jack knocked my hands away and buttoned my shirt for me. Jack was older than me, just by two years, but he was slightly shorter than me. He had inky black hair like Phil, but his eyes were a pale green color. Not for the first time, I noticed how handsome Jack was.

"Phil" I said quietly. "His name is Phil" Jack nodded curtly as he finished with the buttons. I glanced at my hair and then slipped my shoes on. "And I don't want to talk about him right now" Jack opened my door and followed me out.

"Alright" Jack put his hands up in defeat. "But you're going to have to talk about it eventually"

"How late am I?" I asked as I started down the stairs.

"Very" I cursed and turned toward the dining room. I pushed the door open too hard and it slammed against the wall. I cringed and looked towards the table. My parents were sitting there with three other people. They were all staring at me.

"My apologies" I said weakly. "I wasn't aware that we had guests" my 'Prince act' was on before I even walked in the door.

"It's perfectly all right" my father said. I looked at him in surprise. I wasn't in trouble? "Daniel had a big night last night" he told our guests.

"Yes, it was an amazing party" one of the men said. "Have you found yourself a girl yet?" he asked with a laugh.

"Ah, not yet" a plate was set in front of me.

"We're having another ball in a few weeks so he'll have another chance to find someone. I'm sure there's quite a few that he has his eye on" everyone laughed. I silently picked at my food. My brain was replaying the events of yesterday over and over. I was making myself sick thinking about it. About his eyes. His hands on me. His lips... My stomach started to churn as I thought about the dream I had. Kissing guys couldn't be that different from kissing girls, right? And even if I was terrible, Phil would never just walk away like that, right? But, I didn't know Phil. Not really. We only talked for a few minutes the night before, and just because he was my soulmate that didn't mean I knew everything about him. I actually knew very little about him. I had no idea how he'd react if I didn't know how to kiss him. I mean he was my soulmate, but that didn't mean he had to be with me.

I needed a way to practice kissing...

I must've been thinking about all this really deeply because I didn't hear my name being called until someone tapped me on the arm. "Hmm?" I asked. My mother laughed.

"I asked if you were all right, you've hardly touched your food" she said. I looked down and saw that I had been pushing my food around instead of eating it.

"Uh, yeah. I'm just tired" I picked up my fork and shoveled my food down. The three men continued their conversation with my father. I don't know who they were. We had guests all the time, and I never bothered to get to know any of them. "May I be excused? I've got a bit of a headache" I asked when my plate was empty.

"Of course, sweetheart. You had a very long day yesterday" I nodded and quickly exited the room. 

I had a terrible idea in my head and I needed to do it now or I was never going to have to courage to do it. I raced back to my room and slammed the door open. I looked around and found that it was empty. I opened the door that lead to a second bedroom and found him laying in his bed reading a book.

"Do you need something?" Jack asked. I closed the door behind me and moved to the side of his bed. He craned his neck to look up at me as I stood over him.

"You flirt with me" I said. He frowned and put his book down.

"What?"

"You flirt with me, Jack, don't deny it" he put his hands up.

"Alright, I flirt with you. I'm sorry. I'll stop if you want me to" I shook my head quickly.

"No, no. I mean..." I groaned. I didn't know how to say this without coming off as weird. "You- you flirt with me. You flirt with boys. Have you ever- like, kissed a boy?" I started pulling on my sleeves. I was beyond nervous right now. I was afraid he was going to laugh at me.

"...Yeah" Jack said. I sighed in relief and sat on the edge of the bed.

"So you're..." I took a deep breath. "You're..."

"Gay" he said. "Yeah. I'm gay. If you think you might like that boy you're going to have to learn to say the word gay. Or bisexual, or whatever you are" I ran my fingers through my hair. "Are you? Gay or bi?"

"I don't know..." I put my head into my hands. "I've never... I mean I've kissed girls before. But only when they kissed me first. I definitely like Phil, so- so-" I groaned in frustration. "So I don't know! I don't know what I am. I don't know what I want"

"So what are you going to do about it?" I turned to him and again noticed how attractive he was. And he was gay. And he'd kissed boys before. I leaned slightly closer to him. His eyes widened when he realized what I was doing. "Daniel, think about this" he said. "Do you really want to do this?" I leaned closer. I could feel his breath hitting my face.

"Jack," I whispered. "I need to know. I need to know if its just him. If he's just different or if I really am... gay" Jack was staring at my lips. "I need to know. Can you help me?" I needed to know if I just liked Phil because he was my soulmate or if I really was just gay.

"This is just experimenting?" he asked. "Nothing serious?" I nodded shakily.

"R- right"

"Promise you won't regret this? Or be weird about it?"

"Stop asking questions and just kiss me already" I groaned. Jack glanced down hesitantly. I impatiently grabbed the front of this shirt and crushed our lips together. Jack leaned into the kiss and tangled his fingers in my hair. Jack kissed fast and hard, not anything like Phil's kiss which was soft and slow. I struggled to keep up with him. He pushed me back so I had to prop myself up on my elbows. He swiped his tongue against my bottom lip. I sighed, allowing him access to my mouth.

This wasn't much different than kissing girls, except I'd always been the dominant one before, whereas now Jack was taking the lead. He had definitely done this before. He did this thing with his tongue that made my insides melt. "Relax" he said as he started kissing down my neck. "You're thinking to hard. Just... let go" my breathing hitched when he slipped his hands under my shirt. "How much practice do you need?" he asked. I hesitated. "Just tell me when you want to stop"

"I- I- I-" he ran his hands up my chest. "W- wait!" Jack stopped immediately. "I can't- I can't do this. I shouldn't be doing this" I scooted away from him. "I'm meeting Phil tonight and I know we're not actually together but-" Jack nodded.

"I get it. I'm sorry"

"No, it's okay. You stopped when I asked you too" My heart still racing and lips throbbing.

"Did you... decide anything?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"I'm definitely gay" Jack smiled at me, and put his hands in his lap.

"So you're meeting him tonight?" I looked up at him.

"Yeah. Outside the gates, by the stables" I twisted the fabric of my shirt nervously. "Jack, what am I going to do if my parents find out? They're not going to be okay with this, right?" Jack sighed and put his arm around my shoulder. I leaned into him.

"They probably won't. But you don't need to worry about what they'll think right now. We can worry about that a different time"


	6. VI

The sun had barely started to set when I snuck out of the castle. I went through the kitchen and grabbed some food for later before leaving out the side door. I walked through the gate and down the hill to the stables. No one would be out here at this time of night, but I was still paranoid so I stood by the side of the building.

I started to get nervous as I stood there. What was going to happen when he got here? What was he going to say? I still couldn't believe that he was really my soulmate, I mean before last night I always assumed that I was just going to marry a girl. I never dreamed that I would even meet my soulmate, or that my soulmate would be a he. Before long, I saw him walking up the road that led to town. He was here. The closer he got the more panicked I became. What was I going to say when he got up to me? What was I going to do? Was I just supposed to kiss him? I mean I was going to kiss him soon hopefully because I didn't practice for nothing. He smiled at me as he stopped in front of me. He opened his mouth to say something and-

I kissed him.

"He- Oh" he grabbed me and kissed me. "So we're doing this now, okay" he laughed. I broke the kiss.

"Shit. Did you not want to kiss me? Oh my god, this was a mistake I'm sorry" I covered my face in embarrassment. I cannot believe I just did that. "Goddammit"

"No, no, no" he touched my arm. "It was great. You're great. It just caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting it so soon. I thought it would happen later, like after we talked..." I mentally face-palmed. Right. We should definitely talk first.

"Uh, yeah" he smiled and goddammit. I think my heart stopped beating. "I, um, brought some food" I said, awkwardly holding up the basket in my hand. "I thought- I dunno" my face was burning. I was so bad at this.

"A picnic?" he asked. "At night" I groaned.

"You're right it's stupid" I glanced back at the castle. "Maybe I should just go-" Phil grabbed my hand.

"No!" he pulled me towards him. "Please stay. I was going to say that sounds amazing. I've never had a moonlit picnic before" I tightened my grip on the basket and looked around for a clearing to spread the blanket out on. Phil helped me smooth the blanket down and pull the food out. We sat close to each other and started eating while we watched the sun sink below the horizon. I was nervous, and I could tell Phil was too. Neither of us were sure what to say. We didn't know what we were doing. This was new to both of us.

"It's so beautiful out" Phil said.

"Yeah" I kept glancing back at the castle to make sure no one was looking for me. Jack promised to tell people I went to bed early because of a headache, so no one should be looking for me, but still...

"What are you thinking?" Phil asked. I blinked and turned back around and saw that he was staring at me.

"I'm sorry, I'm just afraid that they're going to realize that I'm gone" I said. "And I-" I struggled to find the right words.

"You what?"

"What do we do now?" I asked. We were here. We found each other and we were here. What happens next? "You're my soulmate. But, what does that mean exactly?"

"I'm... not really sure" he said honestly. "Obviously I've never done this before" I let out a laugh. "I don't know," he shrugged. I wasn't the only one that was trying to find the right words. "I don't know! Where do we go from here?"

"I don't know either" he sighed and turned back to look at me.

"Maybe we don't know now, or for a while. And that's okay, right? We can figure this out as we go along" I nodded. "I don't know what we do next, but I know that I want to do it with you. Whatever happens, happens. As long as you're there it'll be okay, I think. And I don't know if this is what it feels like to have found your soulmate, but you're different. I've never felt anything like this before and that scares me. When I left the party last night I was different. I felt... incomplete. It was like when I left you, I left a piece of myself. You make me feel whole" I admired his face as he talked. His pink lips, and the way he chewed on them when he wasn't sure what to say. And the way he fluttered his eyelashes. He was beautiful. "And that scares me so much"

"It scares me too" I admitted. I scooted closer to him to get warm, or at least that's what I told myself. I breathed in deeply. Phil smelled like freshly baked bread. "I couldn't stop thinking about you last night, and I almost convinced myself that you weren't real. That you were too good to be true. And the fact that you, my soulmate, are a boy freaked me the fuck out. I don't know if I would've come here if it weren't for Jack. He sort of calmed me down and talked to me about it" Phil looked down at me and smiled.

"Who's Jack?" he asked. The images of earlier today flashed through my mind. I cleared my throat.

"My best friend" I didn't want to think about Jack right now. I needed to focus on the fact that Phil's face was really close to mine.

"Hmm" Phil hummed. My eyes flitted down to his lips. "Daniel?" my mouth dipped closer to his.

"Call me Dan" I whispered. We were both whispering, though no one was around to hear us.

"Dan," I pulled my gaze away from his lips and forced them up to his eyes. They kind of sparkled in this light. "I know we're not going to figure this out right now... But can I kiss you?"

"Jesus Christ, I thought you'd never ask" with another word he closed the gap and kissed me. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him against me. Our lips moved together sloppily. This kiss was needy. We needed this. I felt like I had touched a live wire, he felt electric. It was like he was completing the circuit. He completed me. He made me feel whole. In this moment, Phil was the only thing that mattered.


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I added this chapter in after I had already finished writing the whole story, and it's kind of short and pointless but I really felt like it needed to be here so~ yup. Please comment if you're reading!

I woke up the next morning feeling unbelievably happy. I stared at my wrist for what felt like hours, and then pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. We had planned to meet again tonight, same time same place. I was so excited that I got up early and was on time for breakfast. When I sat down my mother acted like she was seeing a ghost. She did a double-take as I started digging into my food.

"Daniel" she said with her eyebrows raised. I smiled at her.

"Good morning" she continued to stare at me until I stopped eating and looked at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" I wiped my mouth on my sleeve.

"No," she looked down at her plate and smiled. "I'm just surprised to see you at breakfast. You're never awake for it unless you have to be" I shrugged and looked around.

"Where's Father?" I asked.

"He's out with those men that were here yesterday. They're out talking about some things" I went back to eating my food. Everything seemed different now. Food tasted better, colors seemed brighter. My world changed overnight because of him.

"You seem to be in a good mood today" my mother pointed out. I looked up at her.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"You're smiling at your eggs" I couldn't control my smile. I was just... so happy. Phil made me unbelievably happy. "Was your smile... caused by someone?" she asked. I blushed.

"Mother!" she laughed.

"Well? I've never seen you this happy, and you're at breakfast. Voluntarily. Trust me, someone had to make you this happy" I bit my lip and glanced away from her. She gasped. "Who is she?" my heart sank in my chest. "Did you meet her at the ball? Oh, I just knew you would! Tell me all about her" I stared down at my lap, ashamed. I couldn't tell her about Phil. There is no way that she would be okay with me being with a boy. I had to marry a girl to be king, and I had to have children to continue our bloodline. Someone had to rule after me. "Daniel, don't get all embarrassed on me. Tell me about her" She looked so excited. I couldn't let her down.

"She- " I looked away from her. I couldn't look her in the eyes and lie about this. "She's amazing, Mother. She's beautiful and funny and I really really like her" I said wistfully. I glanced up to see the look on her face. She looked so proud. "And I think... she really likes me too"

"Oh honey" she reached across the table and took my hand. "I'm so glad" I smiled thinly. "I bet you're excited to see her again at the next ball" I looked away from her. "Less than two weeks" she said with a wink.

"Yeah" I said weakly. I looked down at my empty plate and cleared my throat. "I'm going to... go for a walk if that's okay"

"Of course, sweetheart" and just like that she went back to her breakfast. I got up from the table and walked back to my room.

 

"How was your date last night?" Jack was sitting on the end of my bed folding my clean laundry.

"It wasn't a date" I mumbled as I flopped down onto my bed.

"Really?" he said dubiously. "So you're telling me we did all that kissing for nothing?" I blushed.

"I didn't say that" he turned and smirked at me. "I had breakfast with my mother" I stated. Jack looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"I noticed. When I woke up this morning I thought maybe you didn't come home last night" he said suggestively. I threw a pillow at him.

"Shut up" I laughed. I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest. "My mom asked me why I looked so happy"

"Did you tell her it was because you had a hot date last night with your 'soulmate'" he joked.

"Jack, I'm serious" he frowned.

"Sorry" I ran my fingers through my hair.

"I don't want to lie to her, but..."

"You can't tell her either" he said sadly. I nodded. "I'm sorry" he said sympathetically.

"I was so happy when I went down there. And then she asked me if I met a girl, and suddenly it hit me. This isn't going to work. I can't be with Phil. I can't be with him... Not really, anyway. Not in the way I want to. When I think about the ball, all I see is us dancing. We're dancing and no one's staring at us, because why would they? Why would they stare at two people dancing" I groaned in frustration. "But I can't do that! Because not only do people think it's weird that a guy is dancing with another guy, but I'm also the prince! And I have to have a wife to be king! I have to have kids so one of them can take the throne when I step down. I have to think about other people here, not me. I have to think about the future... right?" I looked up and Jack had stalled his hands. He wasn't looking at me. "Right?"

"Dan," he looked at me sadly. "You shouldn't have to sacrifice your happiness for others. It kills me that you feel like you have to do that" My shoulders dropped.

"Then what should I do?" I asked desperately

"You should do whatever makes you happy" he said. "Even if it makes people look at you weirdly. Do what you want for you, not for anyone else"

"Thank you" I said quietly. I moved forward and pulled him into a hug. "You're literally the best friend ever" he sighed.

"Yes I am"


	8. VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter is shit but idc anymore so please just go with it. I promise it gets better. Also idk if anyone noticed but I just posted 8 chapters all at the same time, I'm not posting the whole story right now. I'm just posting what I have up on tumbr and wattpad. I'll be posting a chapter every few days on here from now on.

I met Phil that night, and we had a picnic just like the night before. We talked about anything and everything, and then made-out quite a lot. My lips throbbed when we stopped. When we were both so tired we couldn't see straight, we went our separate ways, with the promise that we'd be back the next night.

It became a nightly ritual. We'd meet, talk, and kiss. I had never felt this happy in my entire life. My parents kept commenting on the change in my behavior. I was nicer to people. Every time I saw Phil my world got a little bit brighter. We were blindly happy in our little bubble. And though I knew it wouldn't last, I was glad that something was finally going right in my life.

Tonight was almost two weeks since the ball. I had known Phil for less than two weeks. It felt like so much longer, but at the same time every night felt like the first time I met him. I bounced up and down as I waited in our usual spot. I already laid the blanket down and had the food laid out. He was a few minutes late.

"Hey, sorry" he said as he jogged up. He pulled the bag off his back and sat down. "My sister didn't feel well today so I had to help get the kitchen ready for tomorrow" he opened his bag and pulled something out. "I brought some sweet rolls to make up for it" he smiled apologetically. I took the food from him.

"It's fine" I laughed. "You're not that late" I took a bite of the roll and moaned. "Fuck this is good" Phil grinned at me.

"You're so cute" he said breathily. I playfully glared at him and then leaned over to give him a kiss. "I missed you today" he said as he started to pull bits off of his roll and eat it. "I saw some fliers up all over town about the ball in a few days, and it made me think about when I met you" I smiled fondly. "Are you excited for it?" he asked. I snorted.

"Oh yeah, I'm really excited about having a bunch of girls drool over me"

"Please, they won't be drooling. You're not that hot" I scoffed.

"Excuse me, but I am very hot" I argued. "I'm the hottest"

"Whatever you say" I elbowed him.

"Shut up" he smiled and me. I sighed contently. When he looked at me like that it was like the whole world disappeared around us, like we were the only two people on the planet. I had to look away, because I was afraid I was going to get lost in his eyes. "No," I said seriously. "I'm not really excited for the ball. I don't know what I'm going to do" I pulled on my sleeves nervously. Phil put his arm around me and pulled me closer. I leaned into his side. "What if they make me decide? What am I going to do?"

"Don't think about it right now. Just take it one day at a time" he said. "Something might change between now and then and you'll have worried about all this for nothing"

"I don't know what could change between now and then" I mumbled. "I highly doubt my father's going to change the law for me. I don't even know if he can" Phil nudged his hand against mine, and I laced my fingers through his. Just being close to him made me calm down.

"So just worry about this ball first" Phil said. "And when that's over you can worry about the next thing" I wasn't sure I could do that, it was impossible for me not to worry about everything.

"Are you going to be at the ball?" I asked curiously. I really hoped he would, I didn't know what I was going to do if he wasn't there.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world" he squeezed my hand. I smiled. "Of course I'll have to bring Amelia with me, and she's not your biggest fan at the moment" I laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, I felt terrible about that. I was so busy trying to talk to you that I completely forgot her name, and I kept asking about you. I was so embarrassed!" Phil laughed.

"No, she actually thought it was kind of funny after I told her that you were my soulmate" I swallowed thickly.

"Y- you told her about that?" my voice cracked. Who else had he told? What if someone told the wrong person and they told everyone? Oh god what if my parents found out.

"Yeah, I tell her everything. We're really close" he noticed that I was freaking out. "Hey, don't worry" he turned so he was facing me. "She won't tell anyone. She knows how big of a deal this is. I just had to tell someone. Don't you have someone you can tell?" he asked. I shook my head. "What about Jack?" I hesitated.

"I- I didn't tell him"

"Why not?"

"I just... I'm afraid that my parents are going to find out. And logically I know that Jack's not going to tell anyone, but what if he does? Right now no one in the castle knows about this, so there's no chance that anyone will find out" Phil probably thought I was crazy. "It's stupid, but-"

"No, I get it" Phil said. He put his hand on my cheek. "I understand. It probably wouldn't be good for you if the wrong person found out about this." I nodded. I hated that we had to sneak around. I just wanted to go places with him, and introduce him to my parents. I didn't want to spend my life stealing kisses behind a stable. "Maybe someday we can get away from all of this" I smiled at the thought. I knew it would never happen but it was nice to think about it.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have to dress up anymore, and there would be no more stupid balls" Phil pouted.

"You wouldn't dress up for me?" he asked. I pretended to think about it.

"Hm, no" he laughed.

"Jerk" I smiled. Everything with him was so comfortable. I could talk to him about anything and everything, It was like we had known each other our whole lives. And whenever I looked at him I felt this weird pull in my stomach... I wasn't quite sure what it was but it was painful. Like a good pain. He made me feel things that I had never felt before.

"I should... probably head back now" I said reluctantly. "It's getting late" I didn't move. I never wanted to leave. Phil grabbed my hands and pulled me up.

"Come on, I don't want to get you in trouble" I leaned in and kissed him. He smiled against my mouth. "Goodnight" he said with a laugh. I pouted when he took a step back. "You know if we start doing this you're never going to get back to the castle" he pointed out.

"Who says that's a bad thing?" I said suggestively. Phil shook his head at me, bemused. He started to roll up the blanket.

"You did, like two minutes ago. Plus you really don't want to get a cold right before the ball. A runny nose is not attractive, trust me" I sighed in defeat.

"Fine" I took the basket out of his hand. "I'll see you tomorrow then" he planted a kiss on my cheek.

"See you tomorrow"


	9. IX

He was late the next night. Really late. It was so cold out that I started pacing to keep warm as I waited for him. After about an hour I put all the food back into the basket and sat on the empty blanket. It was already dark out, and it was getting colder by the minute. He would be here, he was probably just late. I laid back and looked at the stars as I waited for him. I waited, and waited, and waited. I waited all night. When the sun started to come up in the sky I realized how stupid I was being. He was obviously not coming, and now I was probably going to catch a cold. Why wasn't he here? He said he would be.

I scanned the path in front of me one last time, and then wadded up the blanket and shoved it in the basket. I had to get back in before someone came looking for me, if they weren't already. Today everyone was getting ready for the ball, meaning I had to let people get me ready for it. I was already dreading it, and now that Phil hadn't shown up I was in a worse mood. I stomped into the castle and dropped the basket off by the kitchen. Jack was eating breakfast when I walked by.

"Hey" he called to me. I stopped and walked into the kitchen. The staff was running around getting the food ready. "You didn't come back last night" he winked. I pulled out a chair and sat down next to him. I'd never sat in the kitchen before. "Have fun last night?"

"He didn't show" I mumbled, laying my head down on the table. "I sat out there all night waiting for him like a fucking idiot" Jack put his hand on mine.

"I'm sorry" he said. He sounded like he really meant it. I propped myself up on my elbows.

"'s fine. He was probably just busy" I was so tried I could barely keep my eyes open. 

"Hmm" Jack hummed in response. I knew that Jack didn't really like Phil, but I knew he would feel differently if he knew that he was my soulmate. He just didn't understand. I watched Jack eat for a minute. "Do you always eat in here?" I asked curiously. He looked at me with weirdly.

"...Yeah" he laughed shorty. "I always eat here" I frowned.

"Really?" How did I not know this? Jack shook his head at me, smiling.

"Where did you think I ate?" I paused.

"I guess I never really thought about it"

"You're really thick sometimes, you know that?" There was so much I didn't know about Jack. He was my best friend and I didn't even know where he ate every day. Maybe that's why Phil didn't show up. What if Phil told me that he wasn't coming and I just wasn't paying attention. Jack snapped his fingers in front of my face. I blinked.

"What did you say?" I asked. He laughed quietly.

"Fall asleep?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No. I was just thinking"

"I asked if you were ready for tomorrow" I sat back in my chair.

"Uh, no" one of the staff put a plate in front of me. I looked up in surprise. "Oh, thank you!" I said. She smiled and went back to work. I could eat in here? I started digging into my food. "Phil's going to be there though so at least it won't be awful" I said with my mouth full. Jack watched me with a mixture of disgust and amusement. I covered my mouth with my hand. "Stop looking at me like that"

"God you're adorable" I blushed. He watched me for a few more seconds and then turned back to his food. "How are you going to be with Phil at the ball?" he said, completely ignoring the fact that he just called me adorable.

"Uh, dunno" I guess I really hadn't thought about it.

"Because, obviously you can't just stand next to him in the ballroom the whole time. You're parents will get suspicious. Are you just going to make him stand outside the whole time? Because I don't know about you but that seems kind of rude, making your boyfriends stand outside in the cold all night"

"He- he's not my... boyfriend" I stuttered out. Jack stared at me with his eyebrows raised.

"You've been sneaking out of the castle every night to make out... what else would you call it?" I shrugged and ate the last bite of food on my plate.

"We don't really call it anything, I guess. I don't know. We haven't really talked about it" I looked down self-consciously. We hadn't really talked about the future at all, I realized. We never even really said if we were together or not. I guess I just assumed we were, because of the whole soulmate thing. I made a note to ask him about that tonight.

"You should probably talk about these things" Jack said.

"We've only known each other for two weeks" I argued. "We shouldn't have to talk about stuff like this. It isn't normal"

"You're not normal, Dan. Nothing about this situation is normal" I hated that he was right. "You guys have to talk about this stuff. You need to figure out what you're doing" I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Why couldn't we just stay in our happy little bubble forever? Why did we have to talk about things like this? Like how we were going to get to see each other.

This was all so unfair.

 

After my breakfast with Jack I headed up stairs and slept pretty much the whole day. I was exhausted from waiting for Phil the previous night. When I woke up it was already starting to get dark. There was a basket of food next to my bed, with a note on top from Jack.

'You slept through dinner so I packed some food for you. Don't stay out all night this time -Jack'

I smiled. Jack was really the best. I crawled out of bed and pulled a jacket on, before grabbing the basket and sneaking out of the castle. I was nearly caught by one of the kitchen staff, but I managed to get out the door before they saw me. I spread out the blanket in our spot behind the stable and pulled the food out. I didn't wait for Phil to get there before I started eating. I missed lunch and dinner so I was starving. Jack packed a ton of food, but I managed to eat almost all of it. When I couldn't eat another bite I packed the rest of the food away and watched for Phil. He was late again. I tapped my fingers against my thigh impatiently. There's no way he wasn't going to be here tonight. I would've remembered him telling me that he wasn't going to be here two nights in a row. Unless something happened. I pulled my knees up to my chest. What if something happened to him?

I was starting to get worried. It was really late now, there was no way that he was coming. But I couldn't bring myself to move. There was a voice in the back of my head telling me that maybe he would be here if I waited just a little bit longer. It was so cold that I could see my breath, and my fingers were starting to go numb. But I stayed. I was going to wait all night again, because I didn't want to miss him.

"Dan" I jumped when I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. "Dan, what are you still doing out here?" It was Jack. He draped a blanket over my shoulders. I shivered and tugged it closer around me.

"Thanks" I said gratefully. Jack rubbed his arms and shifted his weight back and forth.

"Jesus Christ it's freezing out here. How have you been sitting out here all night?" I rubbed my nose.

"I'm not sure I could get up if I tried. I think my butt's frozen to the ground" Jack sighed.

"Seriously, what are you still doing out here? He's obviously not coming"

"But what if he does" I said in a small voice. Jack looked at me. "What if he does show up, and I'm not here? I want to go inside. God, I want to sleep. But there's this voice in the back of my head telling me that he might come. He might be here, and I don't want to miss him" I rested my chin on my knees. "God, what is wrong with me" Jack stared at me quietly for a long time without answering. I sighed. "Thank you for the blanket, but you don't have to wait up for me. You can go inside. There's no reason for us both to catch a cold" Jack mumbled something under his breath. "What?" he huffed and sat down next to me.

"Give me part of the blanket" he scooted closer to me and pulled part of the blanket around his shoulders. "I'm not going to let you freeze to death by yourself" he was so warm. I unconsciously leaned towards him.

"Thank you" I said softly.

"Just... shut up and scoot closer. Fuck, you're so cold" I moved closer and I was pressed against his side. We sat together like that until morning.

Phil never came.


	10. X

The next day flew by. I slept until lunch, and then I had to get ready for the ball. I wasn't dreading it, I was just nervous. I kept thinking that maybe he wouldn't show up. Maybe he wouldn't be there. My nerves were getting the better of me. I hardly ate all day, and I had a permanent frown on my face the whole morning. I couldn't seem to make it go away. I cooperated with everyone who was helping me get ready because I was too busy worrying to be annoying. I afraid that maybe he wouldn't be here... But he made a promise, and I knew he wouldn't going to break it. He didn't seem like that kind of person.

Jack hadn't left my side since I woke up. He kept asking me how I was doing. To be honest I was a little annoyed, but I didn't want to ask him to leave me alone because I was sure I was going to break down if he left.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked. I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to wipe the nervous look off my face. I couldn't do it.

"I'm beyond ready" I said. Jack looked at me doubtfully.

"Right..." he started brushing my hair. "What's going to happen if he's not there?" I nervously fiddled with the hem of my shirt.

"H- he's going to be there. There's no reason for me to worry about that" I lied. It was kind of funny. I didn't want Jack to worry about me. Even though I was clearly nervous. I couldn't even imagine what I was going to do if he wasn't there. He had to be there. He had to.

"How do you know he didn't just decide to bail on you?" I stared at Jack in the mirror. The thought hadn't occurred to me. Had he just left because he didn't want to be with me? No. That couldn't be it.

"What?" I said. Jack was avoiding my eyes.

"I'm just- I'm just making sure you're prepared. Just in case" he continued brushing my hair. It was a mess with all the curls.

"There's no need for me to be ready. He's going to be there. And he didn't bail because- because-"

"Because he's your soulmate?" he asked sarcastically. I glared at him in the mirror. I still hadn't told him. I didn't want to tell him before because I was afraid that he was going to tell someone else, but now I didn't want to tell him because what if Phil really did just leave? Just the thought of it made me want to crawl into my bed and never get out. I would be humiliated if anyone knew that my soulmate left me. But he didn't really leave me, something had to have happened to him. I was sure of it. "Daniel, you met the guy like two weeks ago. That's it. I've done way more things with way more guys and I've never thought they were my soulmates. I think you're putting way to much of your heart into this. If you're not careful, you're going to get really hurt" I moved out of his grip.

"I don't need to hear a lecture from you" I said sharply. I grabbed my crown and placed it on my head. I didn't care that my hair was a mess. I just wanted to get this over with. "I told you about this because you're my best friend, and I thought you would be supportive"

"No," Jack said, moving towards me. "You told me this because you thought I was gay, and that I could help you. Which I did. And now I'm telling you-" I stopped him.

"I don't care what you think, Jack" I spat. He looked at me, stunned. "Just- just leave me alone" I said weakly. I spun around and started to walk out of the room. I didn't need him to tell me what he thought. What he thought didn't matter. Phil was going to be here because he was my soulmate, and he made a promise to me. He wasn't going to break his promise. 

"What happens if he is there?" Jack called. I stopped in the doorway, still facing away from him. "What are you going to do?" I clenched my fists. "Are you going to leave the party and be with him? What are you going to do if someone finds you? What are you going to do when your mother asks you where you've been?" I could hear him walking towards me, but I stayed still. "This is fun for you now, but what about in a couple of months? Your parents are waiting for you to choose a wife. They're not going to wait forever" 

"Stop" I said. My voice was barely audible. I don't think he could even hear me. 

"Are you going to get married and keep seeing Phil? You know you won't be able to do that, you're too good of a person to cheat on someone. Will you forfeit the throne? For a guy you hardly know?" I felt tears start to weld up in my eyes. 

"Stop" I said again. Jack was standing right behind me, so I know he heard me. But he didn't stop.

"Hey, maybe you do run away with him, hell you might even fall in love with him. What happens then?" his voice was sharper. Why was he so angry about this? This wasn't his life, it was mine. "Where will you go? What will you do? Everyone will look at you and see the gay prince that gave up the throne for some peasant he barely knows" I felt anger bubbling up inside of me.

"You don't know that's going to happen" I said, barely containing myself. I wanted to turn around and punch him.

"But you've never talk about this with him. You have no idea what you're going to do. You have no plan" Jack said angrily. "You're not thinking clearly about this!" 

"I have a plan" I said defensively.

"Then what is it, Daniel-" he touched my arm. I grit my teeth.

"Don't call me Daniel"

"I'm so sorry. What is your plan, sir" I wanted to hit him. I wanted to turn around and hit him. He had no right to say those things to me. But I didn't punch him. Because deep down inside, I was afraid that he might be right.

"I don't have to tell you anything. He's going to be here, and we'll talk about it when we're ready" I pulled my arm away from his and stormed out of the room. 

 

 

The ball had already started when I walked in. I was late. I was still fuming from the argument that I had with Jack, and I was growing more nervous as every second passed. My eyes scanned the mass of people. Jack's words bounced around my mind. 'What if he's not here?' I didn't know the answer to that question. I didn't know what I would do. What would it mean if he wasn't here? Did that mean that he was really gone?

I made my way around the room, watching the people. I thought I saw him for a minute, but the person turned around and I realized it wasn't him. I turned away in disappointment. After an hour of searching, I was starting to lose hope. He didn't seem to be anywhere. My heart was slowly sinking in my chest. Maybe he was just late...?

I noticed my father giving me a look, so I begrudgingly headed towards all the people. Maybe I'd see him if I was dancing. I cleared my throat when I was behind a girl. She turned to me and let out a surprised gasp. I bowed and reached for her hand. She eagerly gave it to me. "Good evening" I said as I kissed the back of her hand. "Would you care for a dance?" she nodded, and I led her out to the dance floor. I looped my arm loosely around he waist and we began to dance.

"Hi" she said with a broad grin on her face. I smiled weakly. I hardly looked at her, as I was too busy scanning the faces around us. "My names Eve" she said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Eve" I said passively.

"I can't believe I'm actually dancing with you" she said. "Oh my god. I cannot wait to tell my friends that I danced with Prince Daniel. They're going to be so jealous! I can't even imagine what Beth's going to say" I nodded along. She gasped. "What if you actually picked me! Oh my god that would be so great. None of my friend would believe it! Of course you'd have to get to know me to like me. My friends all said I was hard to like before they got to know me. They said I was annoying" I nodded at her, not really listening. I still didn't see Phil anywhere. "They say I talk to much, that I ramble on and on and- Goodness this party is so beautiful, and it's like the most fun I've ever had-" I dropped my arms suddenly.

"Excuse me" I said. She blinked in shock.

"O- oh. Okay" she looked down in disappointment, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I knew I was being horrible but... I had to find him. He was here somewhere. I just knew it.

I danced with a few more girls, just so I could keep my father for asking questions. I never stopped looking for Phil. There was this dull ache in my stomach every time I thought about him. Is it possible to miss someone that you hardly know this much? 

 

It wasn't until the night was almost over, and people were starting to leave, that I realized he wasn't coming. It was starting to sink in. He didn't come. He really was gone. Before anyone could notice, I ducked out of the room and his in one of the empty hallways. My eyes were rapidly filling with tears as I leaned against the wall. Jack was right. I put so much hope into this. I put to much hope in him. I trusted that Phil was going to be here, that he felt the same way I did. I really thought he was going to be here... I slid down until I hit the ground and stared straight in front of me. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Dan?" my head whipped up and I saw someone standing in front of me. It was too dark to see his face, but I could make out his dark hair. My heart skipped a beat. I felt hope bubble up in my chest. He crouched down beside me and I started crying.

"I thought he would be here" I covered my face with my hands. I didn't want him to see me like this. Jack leaned in and put his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. My chest felt tight and I struggled for breath. "I thought he liked me. I thought- I thought-" Jack tightened his grip on me. "Why isn't he here?"

"Shh," he whispered. "I know. It's alright" my whole body as I shook from the sobs. Time seemed to completely stop as I sat there. "You're okay. I'm here, Dan. I'm here" We sat there for a long time. I'm not exactly sure how long, but eventually someone came through to tell us the ball was over. I kept my face buried in Jack's tear-stained shirt until I couldn't cry anymore.

Why wasn't he here?


	11. XI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a lot of messages asking if Jack did something to Phil lol. I'm glad you're all worried about him, but Jack would never do anything to hurt Phil because he knows how much he means to Dan <3

I don't remember the rest of the night, but when I woke up i was in bed. Jack was sitting on the end of the bed. He wasn't asleep, he was just laying there staring at the ceiling. I laid there motionless for a while, watching him. When he noticed me he bolted up and looked at me. I groaned and grabbed my head. It was pounding.

"Dan," he crawled closer to me. "You're awake" I rubbed my eyes. They were dry. I was all out of tears. "How are you feeling?" I sucked in a breath.

"Stupid" I said honestly. I put my head into my hands and groaned. "I waited for him all night. He obviously wasn't coming" 

"Don't beat yourself up over it" Jack said. "Maybe he couldn't come. Maybe he was busy or-"

"Jack" I stopped him off. "Don't do that. Don't try and make me feel better. You were right. I'm the biggest fucking idiot" Jack started to say something, but I cut him off. "Can we just not talk about this?" I said. "I really don't want to talk about it" I got out of bed and looked down at my wrinkled clothes. I guess I hadn't changed when I came upstairs the previous night. 

"Okay" Jack looked hurt. I didn't want to be rude, but I really needed some time alone. He got up off the bed and started to walk into his room. He paused in the doorway. "You should hurry and get ready, it's almost time for lunch" 

"What happened to breakfast?" I asked.

"You slept through it" I groaned. The last thing I wanted to do was eat lunch with my parents. I started to change my clothes, and as I did the night before started to flash through my mind.

"Hey," I turned around and looked at Jack. "Thank you. For last night. Thank you for staying with me..." Jack bit his lip.

"It's no problem" I knew he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. We both stood there, looking at each other for a long time. "Are you going to go?" he asked. I tried to get myself to move but I couldn't.

"I don't want to go down there" I admitted. I knew they were going to ask about the ball and that was the last thing I wanted to talk about right now. Jack nodded in understanding. 

"Do you want to come eat with me?" he asked. 

"Yes, please" I sighed gratefully. Jack disappeared into his room to change. My mind started to wander, as I waited for him. I wondered why Phil suddenly disappeared. Where was he? Did something really happen to him or did he just not want to see me anymore? It didn't make sense that he wouldn't want to see me though, seeing as he was my soulmate and we'd spent every night together for the last two weeks. But maybe he didn't feel the same way about me. Jack came back out before I had time to really think about it.

"Are you ready?" he asked. I nodded, and followed him down to the kitchen. It still felt weird for me to be eating in here, it felt like I didn't belong. I didn't belong here. I shouldn't be in here, but I didn't know where else to go. There was no way I was going to eat with my parents. I guess I could skip lunch, but I felt like Jack wasn't going to let me do that. 

"Stop frowning so hard" Jack touched my forehead. I slowly looked up at him. He looked at me with pity. "C'mon tell me what you're thinking" I looked down and realized that someone had put a plate of food in front of me when I wasn't paying attention. I looked around, but everybody was busy with their work.

"I dunno" I mumbled as I picked up my fork and started to push my food around. "He- he didn't show up. He just disappeared without a word. Logically I should be thinking that this was just a really mean way to say he didn't want to see me anymore, but I'm not. I keep thinking that something happened to him. That there's a reason he's not here, I act like I've known him for a long time. It's... I'm crazy, right?"Jack was staring down at his plate.

"You're not crazy. That's... It just means that you're a good person. You see the best in people, even when it might not be there"

"Phil's a good person" I said sharply. Jack flashed a smile, but it quickly fell off his face.

"I know you say that, but you don't know him. There's no way you can know everything about a person that you've only known for a few weeks. I mean, do you even know where he lives?" 

"He lives... in town. His parents own a bakery" Jack rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"There's at least a dozen bakeries in town, probably more. You hardly know anything about this guy, and you've convinced yourself that you're in love with him!" I stuttered.

"I- I n- I never said that-" My voice trailed off. Jack quirked his eyebrow.

"You think it though, I can tell. You think you're in love with him" I did. I did think I was in love with him. I was in love with him. I don't know when I figured this out, but I knew it. 

I didn't say anything. Jack took that as an answer. 

"You're going to wait for him again, aren't you?" he asked quietly. "By the stable. You're going to wait for him, even though you know he's not coming" I looked down at my lap.

"...Yeah" Jack sighed angrily and threw his fork down on the table. "Jack," I said pleadingly. He got up from the table. "Jack, wait" I grabbed his arm. He stopped. "Please, why are you mad at me?" he clenched his jaw.

"Because-!" he stopped and sighed. "Because you're making yourself sick over this guy who clearly isn't here for you and I- I'm-" my eyes widened in realization. "I'm here-" he breathed sharply and shook his head. 

"Jack..." he wouldn't look at me. Did Jack... like me?

"Don't freeze to death while you wait for him" he said coldly. He pulled his arm away from me and stormed off.


	12. XII

I didn't see Jack at all the rest of the day. I went outside that night to wait for Phil again. I was wrapped up in so many blankets I'm not sure I would even be able to get up if he came. I had only been sitting there a few minutes when I heard footsteps coming from behind me.

"I thought you were mad at me?" I said without turning around. Jack handed me a cup and sat down. I stuck my hand out of the blanket and grabbed it. It was full of hot tea. "Thanks"

"I am mad at you" he took a sip of his drink. "But that doesn't mean I want you to get hypothermia and die" I peeked at him from the corner of my eye. "I don't understand why you keep waiting for this guy. Is he really that great?" he asked. I shook my head.

"You wouldn't get it" I said.

"Try me" I bit my lip.

"He's... different. I don't know how to explain it, but he's different than anyone I've ever liked" Jack snorted.

"That's because he has a dick" I elbowed him.

"That's not what I meant"

"He's the first guy you've ever dated, of course he's different" he continued. "Plus everyone's different and some people are going to feel more special than others. That doesn't mean you have to put yourself through hell trying to be with them"

"This isn't that bad" I said stubbornly.

"That's because you have like twelve blankets on you idiot. Let me in" I unwrapped part of my blanket and let him wrap it around himself. "Fuck it's cold out" I sipped my drink.

"I think I love him" I said. Jack turned to look at me. Our faces were really close.

"I know"

"I just... can't understand why he's not here" I felt tears starting to well up. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't cry.

"I don't know why either" he said. "But if he really does love you, there better be a damn good reason" I smiled halfheartedly. We sat in silence for a while. I kept my eyes closed.

"Hey, Jack?" I whispered. "Are you still mad at me?" Jack sighed and leaned his head on my shoulder.

"I can never stay mad at you"

 

Phil didn't come that night. Or the next. Or the next. Jack sat with me every night waiting. Every night I spent less and less time waiting. After about a week I hardly waited at all. I spent all of my time with Jack now. I ate all my meals with him in the kitchen, it became less weird for me after I learned the cooks name, she was pretty cool. All of the staff was pretty cool actually. I knew all of them, obviously, but I never really knew them. They were all so nice. We played games with them at night before we went outside to wait for Phil. They always had some kind of treat to share. Tonight the the cook made pie.

"Mary, this is the best fucking pie I had ever tasted" I moaned as I scarfed down my piece.

"Language" she scolded. I grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry" Jack was talking with his mother across the table as we ate. "You have to teach me how to bake like this" I said. The cook laughed.

"When are you ever going to bake? I do all the baking for you" she had a good point.

"C'mon, it's a good skill to have" she smiled and shook her head.

"Sure, I'll teach you someday when I have time" I smiled at her excitedly. This was so much fun. I hadn't been this happy in weeks. Since... well, since Phil left.

"Hey," Jack looked up. "We should be getting outside before it get's too cold" I looked down at my clean plate. The happiness quickly faded.

"Um, maybe we don't have to go out tonight?" I suggested. Jack looked surprised. "I mean, I'm kind of tired, and I'm sure if he was coming tonight he would've already left" I added quickly. Jack shrugged.

"Whatever you want to do" I carried my plate to the sink and set it with the other dirty dishes.

"Yeah, can we just go to bed?" I felt kind of guilty, not going to wait for him. It was like I was giving up. But maybe I was giving up. It had been almost two weeks since I last saw Phil, and there what were the chances that he was coming back tonight?

"Sure" While he said goodnight to his mother, I said goodnight to Mary and the others, and we headed up to our rooms. We both changed and went to our separate beds. I laid there for a few minutes and then got back up. I quietly walked into Jack's room, trying not to make too much sound in case he was already asleep. His back was towards the door.

"Dan, what are you doing?" he mumbled sleepily. I froze in the doorway.

"I, uh..." Jack rolled over so he could see me. My face flushed. "I just wanted to... I can't-" Jack sighed and pulled the blanket back for me. I smiled and crawled into bed with him.

"What's the problem?" Jack's bed wasn't very big, it was definitely not made for two people, so when we laid facing each other we pretty much were on top of each other. "Are you having nightmares again?"

"No," I didn't know how to explain it. When I was alone, all I could think about was Phil. I missed him so much that my chest ached. "I miss him" I admitted. Jack made a face. I knew he was tired of talking about him, especially after he all but told me he liked me. "I don't want to talk about him anymore" I said. "I want to forget about him. I want you to... help me forget about him" I leaned closer to him, though there was hardly any room to move.

"Dan" Jack said in exasperation. "You can't keep doing this" he pushed me away. I almost fell out of the bed. "You- you just- you're so-!" he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. "You get my hopes up, every time. And you make me think maybe, just maybe he likes me too. But you can't like me that way, for so many reason" I grabbed his hand.

"But I think I do like you" I honestly wasn't sure. I knew I felt something for Jack but I didn't know what it was.

"You think, you always think. God sometimes you think to much" I didn't know what I was thinking. I loved Phil, but he was gone and he was probably never coming back. And I did like Jack, and he was here.

"Jack" he slowly turned towards me. "Jack listen to me" Jack waited. I opened my mouth, but didn't know what to say.

So I kissed him.


	13. XIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is slowing coming to an end, there are only 4 chapters left. I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone that has read this story and left a comment, you're the ones that keep me writing. Really, your support is what motivates me to become a better writer <3 Thank you!

There was only three days until the next ball, and I hadn't really seen my parents since that night. I was with Jack almost all the time, and the other staff. I'd spent... a lot of time with Jack in the last few days. Neither of us really talked about it but we made-out a lot. We never went any further than that, but we were both okay with that I think.

I was surprised when Jack woke me up one morning. I'd been eating with him, so I never had to get up early anymore.

"Dan, wake up" he shook my shoulder. I groaned and rolled over. He smiled down at me. "You're parents want to have breakfast with you today" he said. "I think they're worried. They haven't seen you in a long time" 

"Do I have to go?" I whined. Jack pulled the blankets off of me. I whimpered.

"Yes, now get out of my bed" he laughed. I'd been sleeping in his bed with him. It was kind of nice, sleeping next to someone. "Breakfast starts in ten minutes, you need to get dressed" I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed. Jack was pulling clothes out of my dresser for me. I came up behind him and put my arms around him. He jumped, and then laughed. "Stop it" I laid my head against his back. "We don't have time to get distracted" I spun him around.

"Is that what you call this?" I asked with a smirk. He resisted for a minute and then gave in. Pushing him back against the dresser and kissed him. He put his arms around my neck and kissed me back for a minute. He pulled his mouth away and glared at my playfully. 

"C'mon. I don't want to make your parents mad. You need to go see them" I let go of him with a sigh.

"I know, I know" I changed into the outfit that Jack had picked out for me and then ran my fingers through my hair. 

"Ready?" Jack was standing by the door waiting for me.

"I guess" he rubbed my arm as I walked past him.

"I'll be in waiting for you in the kitchen when you're done" he said. I nodded, and headed down to the dining room. 

 

"Daniel," my father said as soon as the food was on the table. "I've been meaning to ask you, how was the ball? Did you have fun?" I started to pick at my food. 

"Uh, 's fine" I shrugged. He looked at my mother, who made a face at him.

"Did you meet anyone special?" I shrugged again. "Well?" I laid my fork down. 

"No, Father. I didn't" I could tell that my mother was about say something. "I didn't meet anyone special because how the hell are you supposed to meet someone during a fucking ball" all the anger that I had pushed aside came flooding back.

"But what about that girl you were telling me about the other night...?" my mother asked in confusion. The words in the back of my throat. All I had to do was open my mouth and I would tell them. I'm in love with a boy. A boy who left me. I wanted to say it just to spite them. But I couldn't.

"I lied" I said, staring down at my untouched plate of food. "I made her up" 

"But you've seemed so different these last few weeks..." she said. "So unlike yourself. Happy. You've been happy" I scooted my chair back and threw my napkin on the table.

"Well, I guess I'm really good at faking it then" my father stood up.

"Daniel, sit down" I clenched my fists.

"No" I said angrily. "I'm going to eat in the kitchen" 

"Daniel!" he yelled. "Sit. Down." he said. He hardly ever yelled at me like that. It kind of scared me. I slowly sat back down with my arms crossed. "We're not finished talking to you" 

"What else is there to talk about? I haven't found a wife. I'm a disappointment. I'm never going to be king blah blah blah. Does that about cover it?" I snapped. 

"Your mother and I have been meaning to ask you something for a while... We've noticed..." he sighed. "We asked you about the ball because we hope that we were wrong but-" my stomach sank. Oh please no. They both glanced at each other. "We think you've been spending a little to much time with your male servant" 

"Wh- what?" I shook my head. "What are you talking about?"

"Some people around the castle have noticed- we have noticed-" he cleared his throat. "I just think that maybe you shouldn't become friends with your servants" he said. 

"His name is Jack" I said sharply. "And why the hell not!? I don't have any other friends! It's not like I can just walk into town and make friends. They all just want to be friends with me because I'm the prince, but Jack's different. He likes me for me. He's my best friend" my mother folded her hands in her lap and pursed her lips.

"We just think that... you've been getting a little too friendly" my heart stopped. The blood drained from my face.

"M- mother..." I opened and closed my mouth several times without making any noise. They couldn't know. They couldn't. Could they? "H- how... I mean. Wha- What are you-"

"Sweetheart," she got this pinched look on her face. It looked like she was in pain. "You're not very discreet about it" I couldn't breathe. It was like all the air was sucked out of my chest.

"B- but... how, I mean how did you-" I couldn't get complete sentenced out of my mouth. 

"Daniel, we've always known" my father said gently. "Since you were a little boy. We've always known about your... problem" I shook my head in disbelief. How could they know when I didn't even know until a few weeks ago? 

"Wait, my problem?" I asked. Is that what they called it. A problem?

"Yes your... gay problem" my mother said in a whisper like it was too horrible to say out loud. I stared at her with my eyes wide. I couldn't believe this was happening. "We knew that you weren't going to find someone at this ball, we hoped, but we knew it was a very small chance-"

"We've planned one last ball" my father said. "And at this one you are going to pick someone. Then well plan you a wedding in a few months so you'll be ready to be king. And in the meantime... we'll find someone to- uh, fix you problem" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These people, my parents, were telling me that my liking boys was a problem. Like a mental problem that some doctor could fix. I might not completely understand everything, but I knew it wasn't something you could change. "We'll be placing your male servant in a new position and you can spend the next few days preparing for the ball with no distractions" he added

"Y- you can't do that. You can't move him" my brain was finally catching up to what just happened. "No. No! You won't take Jack away from me and I won't go to another stupid ball. This is not happening" I put my hands in ny hair and tugged on it in exasperation. "You can't do this to me"

"Daniel you will do as I say"

"No. I'm not a kid anymore, Father! You can't tell me what to do!" I stood up abruptly. I wasn't going let them do this. They were not going to control my life. 

"Sit down" he yelled. I glared at him defiantly.

"No! This is complete bullshit!"

"Daniel-!" I shook my head and left the room. This was not happening.

 

"Jack!" I burst into my room. I slammed the door open that connected our rooms and saw him. All of his clothes were on the bed. He looked at me sadly. "What are you doing?" I asked hoarsely.

"There's nothing I can do" he said helplessly. I stumbled backwards. 

"No" I continued to move backwards until my legs hit my bed.

"Dan," he said softly. "There was nothing you could do" 

"No!" I shouted. They couldn't take him away from me. Not him. "You can't leave. I need you!" I blinked tears out of my eyes. "I- I love you!" sadness flashed through Jack's eyes.

"No, you don't" he said. "You love Phil" 

"He's gone" I started crying. "He's not coming back. I don't even know him!"

"You do" Jack said. "He's your soulmate" he put his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder.

"You don't think he's my soulmate" I said, trying to wipe the tears off my face. 

"I know he is, Dan" my eyes snapped up to his.

"...What?"

"I lied. I know he's your soulmate. I've seen your tattoo" I unconsciously covered my wrist. 

"Then why did you..." why did he keep denying that he might be my soulmate?

"I didn't want to believe it" I shook my head in confusion.

"Why not?" he wouldn't look at me.

"Because I wanted you to be my soulmate" my heart felt like it was falling apart. I reached for his hand. "I so desperately wanted you to be my soulmate. I feel like a dick but this last month has been the best time of my life. But I knew. You can't run away from your soulmate" he let go of my hand and started to get up. I tried to get him to sit back down, but he pulled away from me. "It was stupid of me to do this. I knew we were only going to end up getting hurt, but I couldn't help myself. I am so sorry Dan" he moved back towards his room.

"Where are you going?" I felt lost. Jack had always been here for me. He's been here since I was young. "Where are they taking you?" 

"They're moving me to the servants wing. I'll be working in the kitchen from now on" That meant that he was going to be working all day everyday. I was hardly ever going to see him. "I think it would be best if you didn't come see me" he said. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he serious? "It'll be easier for the both of us. Eventually you'll move on. You'll find someone better, whether it's Phil or someone else, and you'll be happy. You have to let me move on. And if your parents catch you with me they'll send me away. Far away this time, and I'll never get to see my family" I hated the fact that he was right. I couldn't take him away from his family.

"Jack, I can't do this" I said fearfully. I couldn't do this without him. I wasn't sure I could survive all of this if he wasn't here by my side.

He was crying now, but he smiled through it. "I know you can do this, I believe in you. Do what you think is right. If you think marrying a girl and being king is right, then do it. But don't do it just because your parents want you to" he brushed his hair out of his eyes. 

"Jack" I felt like my heart was breaking. 

"Dan, can you promise me one thing?" he asked softly. Tears were tracking down my face and dripping onto my lap. I was going to lose my best friend. "Promise you won't forget me" he said. He looked so small standing there across the room. I jumped off the bed and pulled him into a hug.

"Don't be stupid" I whispered shakily. "I'll never forget you"


	14. XIV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just found out that a lot of people think that Jack is supposed to be jacksepticeye? Um he's actually just one of my oc's lol. I probably should've specified that at the beginning but I didn't even know people thought that until someone messaged me about it on tumblr... so sorry if you thought that.

I didn't leave my room for two days. I refused to see my parents, though they tried everyday to try and get me to come down. I'd been sleeping in Jack's bed. I missed him. I still wasn't sure how I felt about him. I did love him, but I don't think it was a romantic kind of love. I loved him as my best friend, and it was killing me to not be able to see him. My brain was at war with itself. I was torn between crying about Jack, and Phil. I missed them both, though I was still mad at Phil. I thought a lot about what Jack said, about him knowing that Phil was my soulmate. You can't run away from your soulmate. Then how did Phil run away from me? That's what he did. He ran away. Why else would he not be here? During those few days alone, I completely lost hope that Phil would come back. 

 

Today was the day of the final ball. My parents were going to make me choose someone tonight, even though they knew that I was gay. They knew, and they didn't care. I cried a lot when I thought about it. I cried until I didn't have any tears left. I was numb. I didn't get to decide my future, it was already decided for me. And I had to be okay with it. Because what else was I going to do? Run away? Where would I go? What would I do? I had no way out of this. I felt numb and cold. I felt... hopeless.

"Dan?" there was a knock at the door. I had just finished getting dressed. It took me longer because I didn't have Jack to help me, and the buttons on my shirt were a pain to do myself. "The ball starts in just a few minutes, are you ready?" I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was pale and I had bags under my bloodshot eyes. I looked like a fucking mess.

"Yea-" I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I'm ready" I put the shining crown on my head and, for the first time in several days, stepped out of my room. I was going to spend as much time as possible away from my parents, so I took the long way to get to the balcony that over looked the ballroom.

As the voice downstairs grew louder I started panic. Everything started to feel real. I was about to chose the person that I was going to have to spend the rest of my life with. My pulse quickened. I wasn't ready for this. I couldn't do this.

But it was already to late. The ball had already started. I heard my fathers voice from the floor. I braced my arms against the railing as I listened. His voice sounded distorted, and my vision was starting to get blurry. I covered my face with my hands and sucked in several deep breaths. This wasn't happening to me. This wasn't happened. This wasn't real.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and then I was being led down to the ballroom floor. The voices grew quiet as I walked in. I lifted my head and tried to focus on one spot as the ball began. I stayed there until the people started dance. Everything was a blur for the next few minutes. My mother said something to me, I'm sure it was some inspirational thing about me finding the best woman, but I couldn't hear her. After she went back to sit down I walked over to the edge of the room and looked around the room. Everyone was watching me, waiting for me to make my move. I had to move, I couldn't just stand here all night.

It took me a few minutes to calm myself down enough to move. When my vision was less clouded, I pushed myself off the wall and walked towards the people. I could still hardly breathe, but I wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. I just wanted this all to be over. I scanned the crowd. My eyes landed on a girl with bright blue eyes. My heart squeezed painfully. Everyone I looked at reminded me of Phil. I walked towards her. She looked vaguely familiar, I'd probably danced with her before. "Good evening" I said to her, bowing my bed. Her face was glowing. The people around us all turned to watch.

"Prince Daniel" she bowed.

"I'm terribly sorry, but have we met before?" I said. "I can't quite recall your name" she beamed.

"It's Madeline. Madeline Donovan. I believe I was the first girl you danced with" she said proudly.

"Madeline..." I repeated. "Would you care to have this dance?" she accepted, and I pulled her out to the dance floor. Everyone's eyes were on us. Most girls were glaring and several parents were muttering angrily to each other. They all wanted to be her. They wanted to be the girl that I picked. I was going to pick Madeline. It would make things a lot easier, plus it made for a good story. She was the first girl I saw.

"Um," Madeline was looking at me weird. "Are you alright?" I must've sighed out loud.

"Terribly sorry" I said. "I've had a very long week so I'm quite tired" she nodded and we continued to dance. People were getting bored of watching us so they all started to dance around us. "So, um" Now that we were dancing I suddenly realized that I had no idea where to go from here. I didn't know what to say. How do you ask a complete stranger to marry you?

"Yes?" her eyes sparkled in excitement.

"I know that we don't know each other..." I started. The words were getting stuck in my throat. My head was screaming at me to stop. "B-but I think... over time we could get to know each other... and-" my eyes were suddenly pulled away from her. My heart leapt into my throat. Jack. He was carrying trays of food out from the kitchen. I watched in cross the floor. He turned to look at me, and our eyes locked. His eyes flashed with sadness and he quickly looked away. I looked back at Madeline who was giving me a weird look. "And- and we could..." my eyes were drawn back to him again. His back was to me. I shook my head and tried to refocus myself on the girl. "Um, would you like- I mean," I kept seeing Jack out of the corner of my eye. My heart hurt every time I looked at him. "Sorry, could you give me a minute? I'll be back right back" I dropped my arms and started to walk away from her.

"O- oh, okay" she watched in confusion as I quickly made my way across the room. Jack couldn't see me as I approached him. I was only a few steps away when I saw my mother watching me. My blood ran cold, and I suddenly remembered what Jack said to me, about them moving him somewhere else if they saw us together again. I couldn't be the reason that Jack never saw his family again.

I grit my teeth and walked right past the table, past Jack, and out the door. I braced my arms against the wall and tried to calm my breathing. I didn't think I'd see Jack, not tonight, not this soon. I missed him more than I thought I would. He was my best friend for years, I saw him everyday and now I was expected to just forget about him? I needed a minute to get myself back together before I went back in there.

"Prince Daniel!" I heard someone call for me. I turned and saw one of the servants running after me. "Your father is looking for you. He says you need to come back immediately" I ran my fingers through my hair. It was time.

"Tell him- tell him I'll be there in just a moment" This was it. I was choosing my ending. I was giving up my happiness for my parents. I was out of time, I was out of options. "Just... give me a minute" the servant nodded and went back to tell my father. I leaned against the wall and put a hand over my mouth. I felt sick. I turned and started to run towards the door. I was about to throw up. I had my head down while I was running, so I didn't see the guard in front of me. I ran into him, and hit the floor. He looked startled, and help me up, apologizing frantically as he did. I shook my head.

"It's okay. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going" I felt dazed. "I was about to go back-" I was interrupted by a loud shout coming from in front of me.

"Stop!" There were two guards standing in front of the door. "You can't do this!" I inched forward curiously. "I'm not that late!" The guards were struggling to keep the door shut.

"Hey," they turned to look at me. "You can tell them to leave" I said loudly. "The balls almost over. I've already chosen a girl" the guards looked at each other and then back at me.

"He hasn't got a girl with him" one of them said. I opened my mouth.

"Dan?" I heard the person outside say. I frowned. "Dan, it's me!" My heart stopped in my chest. "Let me in!" the voice cried again. "Dan! It's me, Phil! They won't let me in!" Time seemed to stop around me. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

It was him. It was Phil.

He came back.


	15. XV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, originally this story had a completely different plot line. Dan's parents were going to invite several of the girls and their families to stay at the castle so Dan could get to know them and Phil's sister Amelia was one of them. Then Dan and Phil were going to fall in love and Dan ended up marrying Amelia so he could be with Phil without people knowing. But for some reason I didn't end up going that way, I wrote it like this and I'm glad I did lol. I didn't add the soulmate plot line in until after I had completely finished writing it, which is why it seems a little weird in some spots because I literally had to go through and write the soulmate part after I had written pretty much the entire thing.
> 
> P.s. I kind of hate this chapter. I rewrote it like 7 different times and I'm still not sure I like the way it turned out... I couldn't quite get the ending right but... oh well. It's better now than it was before lol

I stood motionless as the guards stared at me, waiting for me to tell them what to do. I don't know how long I stood there in complete shock before my brain caught up to what was happening. My eyes widened and I started running towards the door. The guards jumped out of my way as I barreled through the door. It closed loudly behind me as I came to a stop. It was dark out, but I could see the outline of him standing in front of me. He was here. Phil was here. He started to say something, but I held my finger up to my mouth telling him to be quiet. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down one of the paths to the side of the castle. I pushed him through an opening in a bush and he landed on his butt on the other side. I stepped through carefully and looked around to make sure no one could see us in here.

"Dan-"

"Shh!" we weren't in view of any of the windows. I sighed in relief and dropped my shoulders. "Okay, we're okay now" I had to be careful. No one could see him with me.

"What's going on?" Phil asked in confusion. I finally turned to face Phil. My heart was in my throat. He looked so good. His black hair was swept back away from his forehead and he was wearing the most amazing suit I had even seen. I put my hands on his chest and let out a breathy sigh.

"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN!?" I punched his shoulder. Phil yelped in surprise. "You left! You promised me that you would be at the ball and then you disappeared an-" the words got caught in my throat. I missed him so much, and I needed an explanation from him. But first...

I pulled him into a deep kiss. I couldn't stand not kissing him for another minute. He gripped my hips tightly as he started to kiss me back. I leaned into him, and then I pushed him away. He stumbled back and almost fell down. I couldn't decide if I wanted to be mad at him or if I wanted to kiss him. Part of my wanted to do both. "What the fuck! I thought something happened to you! I though that I made you up. I that I was going crazy but then I'd see my tattoo and be reminded that you were real, you just weren't here and I-" he held a finger up to my lips.

"Let me explain, please" he said desperately. He lowered his hand. I stayed silent. "I didn't mean to just leave you like that with no explanation. I'm sorry, and I know anything I tell you just going to sound like a lame excuse" he ran his fingers through his hair. "Let me explain" he repeated. I nodded. "Do you remember that last night that I saw you?" he asked. I nodded again. "I was late because Amelia wasn't feeling well so I had to help out cleaning the kitchen. Well when I got back, she was worse. She couldn't even get out of bed by the time I got there" my eyes started to widen.

"...What?" he licked his lips and continued.

"My parents didn't know what to do. We took her to several doctors in town that day, but none of them helped. They didn't have the supplies to help her. So we took her to a doctor a few towns over who knew how to deal with her illness. For a while... we didn't think she was going to make it" his voice got really quiet. "I wanted to come tell you we were leaving, but I didn't have time. I wanted so many times to just come back myself, but if Amelia had died while I was gone... I don't think I could've forgiven myself" he looked at me apologetically.

"Phil-" he turned his head away. "Is she... okay?" 

"She's better now" he smiled weakly. "We got back a few days ago. I- I waited for you by the stable every night when we got back, but... you never showed up. I didn't want to try and come to the castle because I figured that would be dangerous for you, so I decided to wait until the ball tonight to see you. Fuck, I'm so sorry" I felt guilt creep in to me. This whole time I thought that either something happened to him, or he had just left me. I never expected it to be this. "When they wouldn't let me through the door tonight I started to panic. I thought maybe I'd never see you again" he stepped towards me. "They said I couldn't get in without a girl, because why else would I be here? The only reason for these balls is so you can meet eligible girls. I tried to explain that I knew you, but-"

"That probably made it worse" I said quietly. "They know. My parents know. About me being... gay" my eyes widened. My parents. "Shit... shit! Phil, you can't be here. We can't do this" I started backing away from him. My parents were probably looking for me. What would happen if they found us together?

"What?" he stepped moved towards me again. "But I just got here. Being away from you has been hell" I put my hands up. "Every minute I was away from you I felt like I was dying" I noticed that the constant pain in my chest had subsided. Being away from him was killing me as well, though I had been drowning myself in Jack so much that I hard almost forgotten it. "I can't live without you, Dan" he whispered. I couldn't back up any further, my back was up against the bush. He stopped when he was only an inch away from me. "I love you" Him being here changed everything. I didn't think I could do this now that he was here.

"Phil" I whispered defeatedly. "I can't do this" he looked crushed. "I- I think I love you too. But we can't do this. We can't" I touched his arm.

"Why not?" I opened and closed my mouth.

"My parents, they- they want me to... they need me to-" Phil stopped me.

"No, I want to know why you can't do it" he said. "Don't tell me what they need you to do, tell me what you're going to do" I grit my teeth. I knew what I wanted. But I didn't know how it would be possible. I couldn't be with him, there was no way.

"I- can't" I stuttered out. "I can't have what I want. It's not possible. I have to be king..." I shook my head. "I have to make this right. I have to make sure that no one else goes through something like this. I have to change things for everyone in the future"

"You'd actually give up your happiness for your parents?" he asked. I stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm not doing this for them! I'm doing this for-" Phil interrupted me.

"You're doing this because you're too scared to stand up to your parent. This is your easy way out and you're telling yourself it's better for everyone else" he poked my chest with his finger accusingly. I took a step back. "What about the girl you're about to marry? Hmm?" he said. "What about her happiness? You think she's going to like being married to a gay prince she doesn't even know? She'll be stuck with someone who doesn't love her" his face softened. "Dan, please don't do this. You know you can't. You'll regret it for the rest of your life" This isn't how I wanted this to go. I had him back, I didn't want to spend our time arguing.

"Phil..." I didn't know what to do. All the options seemed wrong. How could I make this right, and make myself happy? There didn't seem to be a way.

"I just got you back, please don't do this" he pleaded. "I can't watch you do this to yourself" The only reason I was making this decision is because I had no other choice. But now he was here. Now I had to chose between my happiness and making my parents happy. Phil held my face gently in his hands. "Please say something"

"I don't know what to do" I started to tear up. I seemed to be crying a lot lately. "What am I supposed to do. How can I just walk away without changing anything?" Phil's hands shook as he wiped the tears off my face with his thumb.

"Dan," he said shakily. "I know it hurts, but right now there's nothing you can do. Maybe some day in the future people will be more accepting, but until that happens there's nothing you can do. I'm sorry..." my breathing was ragged as I listened to him.

"This hurts so much..." I cried. "I don't want to be here. When you left I felt like I was falling apart" I reached up and gripped Phil's wrists, his hands still on my face, and stared into his eyes. "P-promise me you won't leave again" Phil shook his head and pulled into a hug. I rested my head on his chest. "I can't do this without you" I breathed. 

"I promise" Phil laced his fingers through mine. "No matter what happens, I'll never leave you again" I rested my forehead against his. Now that he was here, I felt complete again. I always heard people talk about being separated from their soulmates was hard, but I didn't think it was. Not until I saw him, that is. The moment I heard his voice I realized how much I was really hurting. How much I missed him. And now I knew. I couldn't live without him. 

"I'm not going to be a prince anymore" I said softly. Phil smiled.

"You'll always be my prince" he tilted my chin up and kissed me. In that moment, I discovered what love really felt like.


	16. XVI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I have three things to say. 1) The entire time I was writing this, I was listening to the soundtrack for Yuri!!! on ice lol 2) I really wanted to write at least one chapter from Phil's perspective, so I did for this one! It's... a little different I think. 3) This is the last chapter!? (Minus the prologue, calm down) I can't believe this is almost over. I've spent so much time on this.

~Phil~

 

When we broke apart his lips were red and swollen. He was so cute and out of breath, I was too. I righted the crown that was falling off his head, and fondly pushed a few curls away from his forehead. His hair was a mess. God. I missed him so goddamn much.

"Shit" he said breathlessly. The moon was right over our heads, casting weird shadows all around us. Dan's crown glimmered in the light. He looked ethereal standing here before me. I loved him. I loved him more than I thought possible for me to love someone. Loving him was killing me. The way he was looking at me now made me want to steal him away from this place and never look back. I wanted to shield him from the world. I wanted to make him happy. He looked so weak. His skin was pale and his eyes were bloodshot. Did I do this to him? Did I hurt him so much that he was suffering? My heart ached at the thought of him hurting because of something I did. "Phil?" Dan said softly. "What are you thinking?"

"Run away with me" I blurted out. He blinks like he's not quite sure he's hearing my right. "Please" I added.

"Phil" he said with a slight frown. "We can't run away"

"Why not?"

"Where would we go? We don't have any money, or a place to live. And what about your family? Do you really want to leave them?" I sighed quietly.

"At least come live with us then" I said. "Until we can save up enough money to buy a place of our own"Dan got this look in his eyes. It was like he wasn't here anymore. He was like this when he was thinking. I waited for him to come back. "Well?" I asked.

"I love you" he said. I smiled softly.

"I love you too" he started nodding. He had more to say. "What else?"

"This is crazy I hardly know you" he muttered, mostly to himself I think.

"I know but-"

"But you're my soulmate and I love you. And it's not like I can stay here much longer..." he stopped talking out loud, but I could tell he was still going over it in his mind.

"Dan?"

"I want to go with you" he said. I felt my heart lift in my chest. "But I had to do something first" my smile dipped a little.

"Alright, what is it? Do you want to get some of your things...?"

"Fuck no" he said venomously. "I don't want to bring anything with my from this place" his anger quickly dissipated and was replaced with nervousness "I- I don't want my parents to wonder what happened to me" he said. "I don't want them to think I'm dead. Or Jack. I can't just leave him without saying goodbye" he paused. He wasn't sure of whatever he was planning. "God, this is crazy I can't believe that I'm thinking about doing this..." I frowned at him.

"We don't have to leave now. We can wait a few day for you to get ready or-"

"No. We have to leave tonight. I can't stay here any longer"

"So what are you going to do?" he licked his lip and looked me in the eye.

"We're going to dance" he said. His mind was going a million miles a minute. He was like this when he was scared. His brain worked faster than his mouth could handle.

"Dance?" I asked.

"Yes" I reached for his hand. He pulled away.

"Not here" he said. I shook my head in bewilderment.

"Dan, I don't understand. How is dancing going to help you say goodbye to everyone?" 

 

 

Oh. That's how.

I pulled my hand out of his as stood at the edge of the ballroom. No one was paying us any attention.

"Dan," I whispered cautiously. "What are you doing?" he kept starting to move forward and then stopping. He couldn't bring himself to do it. I grabbed both of his arms and turned him towards me. "You don't have to do this. We don't have to do this" he was watching the people around us. "You don't have to prove anything-" he finally looked at me.

"Phil this is it for me" I stopped and listened to him. "This is the last time I'll ever be Prince Daniel. Everything's about to change for me- for us. In a few minutes everyone's going to know, and I won't be Prince Daniel anymore. I'll just be Dan"

"You'll never just be Dan" I said. "You're so much more than that" he smiled at me softly and put his hand on my cheek.

"To you, yes. I'll always be more to you. But to them I'll be 'Dan the gay prince that ran away with another boy'" I snorted.

"That's a really long name" Dan glared at me. "Sorry. Go on"

"That's who I'll be to them. That's who I want to be to them. I'm done being the prince, I just want to be me and this is the best way to tell everyone" I smiled at him fondly. He slid his hand down and laced it through mine.

"If it's really what you want to do..." I said. "Then we can do it"

"Besides, I've always loved being dramatic" I rolled my eyes. "So, are you ready to do this?" he asked. I nodded. "Good, because you're going to have to drag me out there. I'm not sure I can move" I laughed and started to pull him towards the people. His breathing got faster as we got closer.

"Hey, don't look at them. Just focus on me, I'm here" he locked his eyes with me. They were full of fear. The fear of the unknown. We didn't know what was going to happen next. There was no way to know. "Are you ready?" I asked him. He stopped moving and closed his eyes. He took a few shallow breaths and then opened them again. He looked determined now. He was ready.

He pushed through to the middle of the room, still holding my hand. He stopped just as the music changed. The people hardly glanced at us, I don't think they even realized we were here. Dan never took his eyes off me. We were standing opposite each other, neither of us moving. The fear started to creep back into his eyes. I bowed and held my hand out. He shakily took it. I stood back up and pulled him close. It was no secret to him that I didn't know how to dance. So I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before he laughed breathily.

"Put your hand on my shoulder, you idiot" I grinned sheepishly and did as he said. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was so close to Dan that I could feel his pounding as well. I put my other arm around his waist. The music began playing faster as we started to dance. I wasn't sure what I was doing so Dan lead. My eyes kept drifting to the people. They started to notice us, one by one, until the entire room was silent except for the music. I turned to look at them and ended up stepping on Dan's foot. I cursed under my breath.

"Hey," Dan whispered to me. "Focus on me, remember?" I nodded. So I did. I focused on him. I kept my eyes glued on his face as we danced. I noticed his crown beginning to slip down his forehead, pushing his hair over his eyes. He huffed in irritation. I moved to push it back but instead he grabbed it and threw it on the ground. The world seemed to stop around us as it hit the ground. The crash of the metal on the floor reverberated through the room. Every single person in the room was looking at us. Dan kept us moving in time with the music. His lips were parted slightly as he concentrated on the dancing. We moved gracefully around the now empty floor. The people stood back and watched us in shock. I wished they were looking at Dan, that they were all in awe of how beautiful he looked, but I knew better.

Dan stopped us, chest to chest, as the song ended. I was out of breath, and sweat was starting to drip down my forehead. We stood there in the middle of the room, motionless. Time seemed to stop for a minute. No one moved. No one breathed. No one made a sound. I was startled when someone started clapping. Dan looked up in shock. I followed his eye sight and saw a boy with black hair standing near the back wall. I could tell from the look in Dan's eyes that it was Jack. No one else clapped. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw the king and queen. The queen looked pale, and the king look furious. As the king motioned for one of the guards to come near him, I stared to think that maybe this wasn't the best idea we'd ever had. I tugged on Dan's sleeve.

"Dan" I whispered, trying not to move too suddenly. Dan turned and saw what I was looking at. He squared his shoulders and dropped my hands. I watched as he marched over to them. Fear trickled down my spine as he stood in front of his parents. I couldn't hear him over the murmur of the crowd. The shock finally wore off and now they were mumbling to each other about it. I awkwardly shuffled my feet. No one had moved except Dan so I was standing in the middle of all the people by myself. Most everyone was glaring at me, and it was absolutely terrifying. All eyes were drawn to Dan when he shouted 'I'm gay, Mother, and you know it!' I blushed and stared at the ground. This was by far the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to me. What was stopping these people from doing something to me? I was just standing here defenseless, and it's not like anyone was going to stop them.

Dan walked back to me and grabbed my hand without stopping. I stumbled and tried to keep up with him. "W- what are we doing?" I asked. He quickened his pace.

"My mother gave me a head-start" he explained.

"A what!?" We were outside the castle now, near the garden where I first kissed him.

"A head-start. Before the guards throw you in jail and lock me in a fucking tower" my eyes widened. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

"Are you kidding?" he looked at me with no expression.

"Yes" I grabbed my chest and sighed in relief.

"Jesus Christ you almost gave me a heart attack!" he bust out laughing. "If they're not coming after us then why are we running?" 

"Because I couldn't stand another minute in there with those people looking at us like that. I knew it was going to be bad, but holy shit. I thought they were going to stone us to death or something"

"I... don't think that was going to happen" I said without confidence. We were past the castle gates now, and were passing the stable that we met at each night. We kept walking until we were on the path that led to town. Dan stopped and turned towards me.

"But it could've happened. It still could happen" I pushed his curly hair out of his eyes.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise" I was never going to let anything happen to him. He gave up everything for me. Everything. He was giving up himself for me. I knew from the minute I saw him at that first ball that I wanted to be with him. I never even dreamed that he actually would be mine. That he would be my soulmate. I never thought that he would ever love me back. But he did. "No one's ever going to hurt you again, Dan. Ever" he smiled and pulled my mouth down to his.

"I love you" he mumbled. I smiled against his mouth. 

"I love you too" As we stood there under the moon, away from everyone and everything, I felt happy. I felt love. I felt complete. I held him close and let this feeling of happiness wash over me.

"Hey Phil?" Dan said in a hushed voice.

"What?" He leaned back so I could see his face.

"Let's go home"


	17. Epologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This it. This is the last part of this fic. I can't believe that it's finally over :( I know I've said this like a thousand times already but I really just want to thank all of you who have been reading this. Without your feedback I'm not sure I ever would've actually had the motivation to finish and post this. Serious, I can't thank you all enough <3
> 
> Originally I wasn't sure if I was going to include this part because it's kind of pointless but I just wanted you guys to know what happened to everyone after the ball. So here it is, the last part of Royalty! (Aka the most domestic and pointless thing I've ever written)

~Dan~

 

It was hardly light out when I woke up. I rolled over and sleepily rubbed my eyes. I waited for my eyes to adjust before looking around the room. It always took a minute to sink in. I looked at the empty space in the bed next to me and smiled. I was home. Home. I pulled my sleeve up and traced the tattoo on my arm with my finger. I still couldn't believe that something this amazing had happened to me. 

It had been almost six months since the night I left. The night we ran away. We lived with Phil's parents for a few months before we had save up some money and we, with some help of course, bought our own bakery the next town over. It was far enough away that we weren't in my fathers kingdom, but close enough that we could still visit Phil's parents once in a while. We used the money to fix it up and furnish the second floor for us to live, we made ourselves a home. Business was pretty good most days, we kept pretty busy. But mostly we just enjoyed being able to be with each other everyday. I don't think I was ever going to get tired of waking up next to Phil every morning.

I got out of bed and danced across the cold floor to the dresser and changed into my clothes. I hurried down the stairs and turned into the kitchen. I grabbed my apron off the hook by the door and breathed in happily. Nothing smelled as good as our kitchen did every morning. I watched Phil take a tray of bread out of the oven as I attempted to tie my apron on. 

"Good morning" I walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He grinned and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, leaving a streak of flour across it. I laughed.

"Morning" he said happily. I looked around and saw that he had already made everything and was just waiting for them to come out of the oven.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked. "I could've helped" he grabbed a towel and wiped his hands and face off.

"You were too cute this morning. I didn't want to disturb you" I took the towel out of his hands and wiped the flour off his face. "And I told you, you don't have to help in the morning. I know you're not used to waking up this early"

"And I told you I want to learn how to bake. I'm completely useless at everything, because I never needed to learn how to do anything" Phil turned me around and retied my apron for me.

"I know. You even had someone brush his hair" I batted his hands away.

"Shut up! He didn't always brush my hair. I knew how" I said defensively. Phil smirked.

"Whatever you say..." he put his hands on my hips and pulled me close. "You look much better today" he said, cradling my face in his hands. "Your cheeks look rosier, and you're not so thin anymore" I blushed and looked away self-consciously. 

"Shut up" I mumbled.

"Hey," he tilted my chin up. "You look amazing. You look... happy" I smiled softly.

"I am happy" I never dreamed that I could ever be this happy. But in just a few short months, my entire life was turned upside down. "You make me happy" he grinned with his tongue between his teeth. He was so goddamn cute.

"You make me happy too" he pressed me up against the counter and then made a face before quickly turned away. "Phil" I said suspiciously. "Did you get flour in my hair?" I asked. He bit his lip, trying not to smile. "You jerk!" I ran my fingers through my hair vigorously. Flour wafted through the air around me. I glared at him. He laughed and moved to help me.

"Here let me get it-" I grabbed a handful of flour out of the bag on the counter behind me. And waved it at him threateningly. Some of it scattered on the floor below me. Phil's eyes widened. "Don't you dare" I inched closer to him. He put his hands up. "I'm sorry! I surrender! Please, I'll do anything!" I grinned mischievously.

"Really?" I stepped closer to him. Phil unconsciously leaned in.

"Yes! Just don't dump it on my head" he pouted. My head dipped towards his.

"You'll do... anything" he swallowed thickly and nodded, staring at my lips. I brushed my lips against his lightly and then pulled away. He moved his head forward, chasing my mouth. I teased him until he couldn't take it anymore. He stepped forward and kissed me so hard that I stumbled backwards. He pinned me up against the counter and put his hands on my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, still holding some flour in my hand, and he swiftly lifted me up and sat me on the counter-top behind us. I deepened the kiss and sighed happily. I loved him so much. He was going to hate me in a minute.

Before he could process what was happening, I broke the kiss and threw the contents of my hand in his face. I watched as the white powder covered his face and shoulders. The look of shock on his face was adorable. I grabbed my chest as I laughed. Phil kept sputtering, but couldn't get any actual words out. 

"Dan!" he exclaimed. I laughed harder. He looked completely adorable standing there. I couldn't believe he was mine. I had trouble believing that all this was real for a while. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and think I was back in the castle, and start crying when I realized that Phil was next to me. When that happened he would hold me until I fell asleep. 

"I'm sorry" I said, not really meaning it. Phil grumbled something under his breath as he cleaned up.

"No more flour fights, okay?" he said, pretending to be angry. I could tell that he was smiling even though I couldn't see his face. 

"You started it" I pointed out. He grinned up at me. We were so unbelievable happy. I was constantly afraid that it was all going to end soon, but there was no point in worrying. We were happy now, and that's all that mattered. I jumped off the counter and grabbed a sweet roll of the cooling rack and took a bite. 

"Hey, you got another letter from Jack" Phil said as he started to sweep the floor. I perked up. "It's over there" he pointed over his shoulder to the table against the wall. I grabbed it and ripped it open. I hadn't actually seen Jack since I left, but we wrote each other every week. He'd quit working at the castle soon after I ran away, and had started working as a stable boy in town. 

"I miss him" I said as I sank down into a chair. I scanned through the letter and smiled fondly. He'd met his soulmate about a month ago, and it's all he'd been talking about. I was glad that he finally found someone.

"We should go visit him soon" Phil suggested. I glanced at him in surprise.

"Really!?" I asked. He laughed. 

"Yeah, it's not like we're trapped here. We can leave whenever we want" he put the broom back in the closet and sat down next to me. "We'll just have to decide on a date so people will know when we're going to be closed" I bounced in excitement. 

"You guys can finally meet!" It was crazy to me that the two most important people in my life had never met. "And we can meet Morgan!" Phil frowned. "Jack's soulmate" I explained. "He met him a few weeks ago while he was working" I smiled. "Can you believe that they met because of us? Because I met you and we ran away together, Jack moved to town. If Jack hadn't moved to town they might not have ever met!" Phil smiled at my excitement. "Can we go soon?" I asked. "I can write him about it after we're done here!" Phil nodded.

"Yeah, sure. We can go sometime next week if you want" he put his hand over mine. "We can see my parents too if we have time" 

"Yeah! I'm so excited about this now" I beamed. Phil laced his fingers through mine. 

"I'm glad" he said. "You deserve so much happiness" I rolled my eyes at his cheesy words. 

"This is all because of you" I reminded him. "If you hadn't asked me to dance that night I'd still be there" he squeezed my hand. "I'd probably be married by now, and never would've known what it meant to truly happy. So, thank you" Phil sniffed. 

"You're going to make me cry" he said softly. I smiled and kissed the back of his hand.

"I love you" he grinned.

"I love you too" 

For the first time in my life, I was blissfully happy.


End file.
